Irish America December / January 2014

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DECEMBER 2013 /JANUARY 2014 CANADA $4.95/ U.S. $3.95

THE BUSINESS

100 CORPORATE CHIEFTAINS FROM

GOOGLE PARAMOUNT FOURSQUARE & MORE . . .

Why Your Health Care is in Good Hands With

Michael Dowling PLUS: LA’s Water Guru • The Dublin Lock-Out JFK’s 1,000 Days • Peter Quinn’s New Mystery

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December 2013 / January 2014 Vol. 29 No. 1

Contents 38

34 96

80

FEATURES 34 ALL AROUND IRELAND Michelle Meagher took her first trip to Ireland and captured stunning images of towns and landscapes.

38 ON TOP OF THE GAME Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of the North Shore–LIJ Health System, is a model of hard work and strong will to succeed. By Sheila Langan.

44 THE BUSINESS 100 The 28th annual celebration of Irish leaders in corporate America.

80 THE WATER GURU A reservoir to service the growing population of Los Angeles required the vision of William Mulholland.

84 THE DUBLIN LOCK-OUT A hundred years ago, a massive strike marked the beginnings of an organized labor movement in the emerging Irish state.

94 PETER QUINN REDUX The author Peter Quinn, whose third and final installment of the Detective Fintan Dunne trilogy was recently released, talks to Tom Deignan,

96 TARA SINGS THE BLUES Tara O’Grady had been compared to Ella Fitzgerald and other jazz and blues singers. By Kara Rota.

98 IRISH PLACE NAMES Adam Farley looks at the history of Limerick, Maine located in the southwest corner of the state.

100 WHAT ARE YOU LIKE? Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, Dean of the UCD Schools of Business, discusses the future of studying in Ireland, effective leadership, and Irish determination.

102 ST. STEPHEN’S DAY Edythe Preet writes of Hunting the Wren, and tea scones.

88 MEMORIES OF J.F.K. A look at JFK’s presidency in an excerpt from Michael Quinlin’s Irish Boston.

And celebrities share their memories of the news of his death in Holly Millea’s book, Seven Seconds.

COVER PHOTO: KIT DEFEVER

DEPARTMENTS 10 14 104 106 108 112 114

Readers Forum Hibernia Roots Books Crossword Family Album Last Word

EXTRA Icon of Ireland Ciarán Murray, CEO of ICON, offers insight into one of the world’s largest and most successful clinical research organizations.

Pg. 16.

Céad Míle Failte Alison Metcalfe,Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America, talks about the joys of the job. Pg. 32

Visit the Waterford Crystal faCtory

A magical journey through 200 years of crystal making history.

Book your tour online today www.waterfordvisitorcentre.com Guided Factory Tour | Opulent Retail Store | The World’s largest collection of Waterford Crystal House of Waterford Crystal, The Mall, Waterford City, Ireland P +353 (0)51 317 000 | E houseofwaterfordcrystal@wwrd.com | W www.waterfordvisitorcentre.com

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Vol.29 No.1 • Dec. / Jan. 2014

Tom Deignan has written the weekly “Sidewalks” column for The Irish Voice newspaper for over a decade. He also writes columns about movies and history for Irish America, and is a regular columnist and book reviewer for the Newark Star-Ledger. In this issue, he interviews writer Peter Quinn.

Sheila Langan, Irish America’s deputy editor, is a first-generation Irish American with an Irish passport and a love of Irish literature. In this issue, she interviews Business 100 Keynote Speaker Michael Dowling.

Sharon Ni Chonchuir lives and works in West Kerry, Ireland, and much of her writing is concerned with the changing face of modern Irish culture. She writes on the lasting impact of the Dublin Lock-Out in this issue.

Holly Millea is a journalist whose profiles include Mark Wahlberg, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Depp, Sandra Bullock, and Warren Beatty. Her work has been published in ELLE, Premiere, Details, and New York magazine. In this issue we bring you an excerpt from her new book Seven Seconds.

IRISH AMERICA Mórtas Cine Pride In Our Heritage

Founding Publisher: Niall O’Dowd Co-Founder/Editor-in-Chief: Patricia Harty Vice President of Marketing: Kate Overbeck Art Director: Marian Fairweather Deputy Editor: Sheila Langan Copy Editor: John Anderson Advertising & Events Coordinator & Music Editor: Tara Dougherty Director of Special Projects: Turlough McConnell

Edythe Preet has served as culinary historian for Irish America since 1994.

Her continuing feature series “Sláinte!” traces the histories of traditional Irish food, drink and celebration, liberally laced with a wealth of folklore. In this issue she writes about William Mulholland, the Irish-born engineer who brought water to Los Angles.

Michael Quinlin, whose book Irish Boston is excerpted in this issue, is the founder and president of the Boston Irish Tourism Association, a membership group formed in 2000 to promote Irish-American culture, heritage and small businesses to the tourism industry. His company also publishes the MassJazz Travel Guide, which promotes the vibrant jazz scene in Massachusetts. In addition to writing Irish Boston (Globe Pequot Press) he is the editor of Classic Irish Stories (Lyons Press), and is a longstanding member of the Boston chapter of Comhaltas. Mike lives in Milton, Massachusetts with his wife, Colette, and son, Devin.

Kara Rota is the lead editor and manages business development for Cookstr, a technology company based in Manhattan that focuses on the intersection between food, lifestyle and health. She also does freelance food journalism and is an award-winning fiction writer. She interviews singer Tara O’Grady in this issue.

6 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Financial Controller: Kevin M. Mangan Editorial Assistants: Adam Farley Michelle Meagher Matthew Skwiat

IRISH AMERICA 875 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 201, New York NY 10001 TEL: 212-725-2993 FAX: 212-244-3344

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submit@irishamerica.com

www.irishamerica.com Irish America Magazine ISSN 08844240) © by Irish America Inc. Published bi-monthly. Mailing address: P.O. Box 1277, Bellmawr, NJ 08099-5277.

Editorial office: 875 Sixth Avenue, Suite 201, New York, NY 10001. Telephone: 212-725-2993. Fax: 212-244-3344 E-mail: Irishamag@aol.com. Subscription rate is $21.95 for one year.

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Postmaster please send address changes to Irish America Magazine, P.O. Box 1277, Bellmawr, NJ 08099-5277.

IRISH AMERICA IS PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

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By Patricia Harty

Making a Difference "Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement [regardless of social class or circumstances of birth].”

– Definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams (1931)

his magazine was created to bring you the stories of our people. And, as is often the case, the best stories are those where the mind and will win out over circumstances.

One such story is of Michael Dowling, a man born into poverty whose commitment, focus and extraordinary hard work have brought him to the top in the health care field.

The narrative of Dowling’s life raises the question, why are some people bowed by circumstances while others strive to make those circumstances better?

Of course there are many factors involved, including, in Dowling’s case, brains and brawn, but we also learn how a seeming disadvantage, his mother’s hearing loss, became one of the key factors in his success. (You can read for yourself in Sheila Langan’s wonderful cover story).

Dowling, who is the head of North Shore–LIJ Health System, is not the only high achiever profiled in this issue. All of our Business 100 honorees have aimed high and earned their place on the top rungs of the corporate ladder.

In terms of Irish roots, they span the generations; from Irish-born Dowling to Shannon Deegan, whose ancestors took that fateful trip in Famine times to join the Irish community in Pointe St. Charles, Montreal.

But no matter the remove from Ireland, as the quotes on heritage attest, in the geography

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I found the above poster of John Kennedy in a thrift shop years ago and bought it for $30. It reminds me that there are some extraordinary human beings in the world who do try to make a difference.

8 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

of the heart there is no distance at all. And as we read the profiles of the honorees, we catch a glimmer of inherited tenacity born out of the struggles of those who went before.

Taken together, the stories in this issue can be seen as a paean to America, which in its most essential state provided room to grow and dream (are we not the only country with the grand ideal we call the American Dream?).

Our stories, too, are a reminder of the positive side to immigration and the contributions that generations of immigrants have made to nation-building. (Something to consider as the debate on immigration rages on with oftentimes negative slurs being cast about.)

One such story is of Belfast-born engineer William Mulholland, who built an aqueduct many deemed impossible and brought water to Los Angeles. Years after his death, his impact continues to be a source of debate.

In our story on the Dublin Lock-out we see the roots of the union movement that the Irish would bring with them to the New World.

And in our “Memories of JFK” we are reminded of a glorious time when one of our own made it all the way to the White House, even as we continue to mourn him.

My favorite quote of JFK’s is “One Man Can Make a Difference And Every Man Should Try.” Michael Dowling is making a difference in how we look at health care. He is making a difference by promoting education and making internships available for Irish students.

Perhaps most valuable of all, he is making a difference as an everyday motivator and enthusiast about life, and in his optimism about the future.

Dowling believes in the American Dream, and in the idea that if we pull together and all do our bit we can help our country reach its full potential.

And I do too.

Mortas Cine

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{readers forum} The First Word: Faugh a Ballagh I really enjoyed the article about the Fighting 69th and Timothy Donoghue being the first Irish born Civil War recipient of the Medal of Honor. The timing of this is indeed serendipitous as here in Nenagh [Co. Tipperary] the Ormond Historical Society is preparing to honor [Donoghue and] the Tipperary born participants in the American Civil War, through our December lecture, which will be delivered by Damian Sheils author of The Irish in The American Civil War. John Flannery, Posted online

I enjoyed your article on the Civil War, delighted to see that so many Irish were recipients of the Medal of Honor. I think you should list the rest of the names so that the Irish here in America can learn more about the young people who died in the Civil War and those who received the Medal of Honor. I was born in Ireland, Galway, and I served in the U.S. Airforce – the Korean conflict. Of course, we lost some Irish in that conflict too.

Pat Lynch, New York

Your article on Timothy Donoghue was very interesting, but that’s only half the story. He had a brother who also made history. The combination of the two is probably unique in the annals of warfare.

Chris O’Sullivan, Woodlawn, New York Editor’s Note:

The Brothers Donoghue

Private Timothy Donoghue, Company B, 69th New York was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Fredericksburg, VA, December 13, 1862. Date of issue: January 17, 1894.

Citation: Voluntarily carried a wounded officer off the field from between the lines; while doing this he was himself wounded. Donoghue, from Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, had arrived in New York three years prior to his enlisting on September 18,

1862. He was 38 at the time.

Donoghue’s brother Patrick was awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross by the British forces a few years earlier for his actions in India. A 38-year old private in the 9th Lancers during the Indian Mutiny at Bolundshahur, on September 28, 1857, he went to the aid of an officer who had been severely wounded and brought him to safety.

Patrick went on to marry Mary Anne Glasscott in Bombay, India, becoming the stepfather of Anna Leonowens, whose later experiences in Thailand were the basis for the best-selling novel Anna and the King of Siam and the film The King and I. Patrick died at Ashbourne, County Meath, on August 16, 1876. He was 55 or 56.

Timothy, married to Esther M., lived until he was 84, dying on March 19, 1908 at 537 Butler Street, Brooklyn, New York.

He is buried in Hollycross Cemetery, Brooklyn. (Source: SixtyNinth.net).

More Serendipity I found your [Faugh a Ballagh] a very interesting article. I had one of these [serendipitous] moments a few years ago. I found a book in Barnes & Noble with very good WWI maps but did not purchase that day. Something told me to go back and get it.

When I returned it took me hours to find it in a different section. I flew back to Ireland that night, and the next day at lunch scanned the book. I set it facedown and almost fainted, on the back cover was a photograph of Private William Tally Mallon NYC 69th taken in France a few days before his death alongside Joyce Kilmer in late July, 1918.

I had been researching him for seven years and he turns up on my dinner table. He is the only US born Soldier killed in WWI who is buried in Ireland. Irish America kindly covered this story in the August/Sept edition last year although I was unable to obtain a hard copy. FYI you should google the story of Daniel Buckley, Co Cork who survived the sinking of the Titanic, and/or Quinlan Ourcq which details the 62 men who were returned to Ireland for burial in 1922. I have now managed to ID some of those who came back in 1921 including (at last) one Protestant.

Back to your story. One of the really sad facts about the battle cry is that it was colonized (and altered) by a number of British Army regiments including the one with the highest ever record of criminal convictions, the despised “Ulster” Defense Regiment. No matter, it will always rightly be associated with those members of the Irish diaspora who had a true understanding of freedom.

Plunkett (Nugent) posted online

You should do an article on Timothy Murphy, who was an Irish immigrant (County Donegal) and the Americans’ best sniper in the Revolutionary War. He also had a very interesting life (13 children). There is the Timothy Murphy Memorial Monument in Middleburgh, New York.

Jim Lundrigan, New Haven, CT. 10 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

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{readers forum} it never mattered to you anyway / trivial things like that never did but death mattered / you never mentioned much about the war at all / you cared deeply and felt the sorrow of the years / you felt the bombs and the stench of death as only / a poet can do and you wrote them lines to help / to heal the sorrow of the past dear man of God / you put pen to paper so often in your name you did / you sent me a postcard years ago to say my poetry / did you good and I read and re-read every word / until it pestered me so much I threw in it the fire / and forgot to look at the picture of the front side / you quoted Thomas the Rhymer and like he said / I will dance on your grave yes my soul brother / I will dance on your grave and drink a toast too / for you were my articulator always to the north.

Sheila Simpson, Posted online

What Are You Like? Roma Downey I always wondered whether Roma Downey was similar to the character she played on Touched by an Angel, and I am now convinced she really was an angel. And the Irish side of her definitely touches the Irish side of my heart.

Dee, Posted online

Remembering Seamus Heaney Brilliant interview. His responses, so honest and wise. The great poet’s passing, a great loss to the world. May his work live on and on for many generations.

Marjorie Larney, via Facebook

Thank you for this precious article.

What a good interview, especially the question of what is a poet? This is the poem I wrote for Seamus.

Dear beloved soul brother as they lay you down to rest / I will take up pen and write a poem for you and yours / Bellaghy boy man yellow bittern you will always sing / the soul song of the north of Ireland for you are all it / you and your way with turn of phrase and wit of gem / you told us who we were and why between the lines / we breathe the fresh air of sheets blown in the wind / hung on your mammy’s clothes line outside in the yard / Seamus beloved soul brother there will be no goodbyes / for you have left the essence of yourself with us forever / for you have finished the book of life and now you get / to wake up to the big cosmic world of the one breath / I am sure they all came to meet you your mammy / your daddy and the little brother along with dogs / and maybe a cat or two and lots of birds and cows / Or you are in heaven in eternal bliss where no words are needed for you the very breath of life itself / I will see you everywhere now in wind and rain / in the dance before me of nature you will be there / as sure as day follows night you will be there and / you will visit all the freedom fighters who died / Catholic, Protestant 12 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Fr. Whelan, Angel of Andersonville I enjoyed your article on Fr. Whelan the Wexford-born “Angel of Andersonville.” My brother and I recently visited County Wexford, Ireland this past October. We were on a quest to find the birth villages for our 3rd great grandparents, John Kelley and Mary Catherine Whelan. On the next trip to Ireland, Clongeen will be on the list to pay homage to Father Whelan.

It is ironic that Patrick Kelley (b. 1802 Canada), son of John and Mary (b. Ireland) settled in Caribou, Maine. Patrick’s son, Lawrence (24 years old) was in the Maine 11th Infantry Co.D and sent to Andersonville as a prisoner of war. Lawrence died shortly before the war ended and it’s a comfort to think that Father Whelan might have been with Lawrence when he took his last breath of life. Lawrence, buried at Andersonville National Cemetery, is a long way from home.

Both Father Whelan and Lawrence are remembered tonight for their courage to help mankind during times of destitution.

Sandy Loughman, Jacksonville, Florida

Women’s Hall of Fame Mollie Rodgers, the founder of Maryknoll Sisters is being inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame.

Wonderful. How about Honora “Nano” Nagle, founder of the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary? She was voted one of Ireland’s outstanding women in 2000.

Pat Gray Mahon, via Facebook.

Visit us online at Irishamerica.com to leave your comments, or write to us: Send a fax (212-244-3344), e-mail (submit@irishamerica.com) or write to Letters, Irish America Magazine, 875 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 201, New York, NY 10001. Letters should include the writer’s name, address and phone number, and may be edited for clarity and length.

Calling all Flynns, O’Malleys and Schweitzenburgs.

No matter when your family came over from Ireland there’s never been a better time to go back! And plan to bring the whole family, friends and colleagues!

Wherever you live in the United States it’s never been easier to get to Ireland.

Plan a visit now and enjoy connecting with your family, your friends and your Irish roots.

So go on! – What are you waiting for?

Plan your visit now at Ireland.com

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Publication: Irish America Magazine Artwork due date: Nov 25, 2013 Publication date: , 2013

Page Trim: 8” x 10.875” Bleed: 8.75” x 11.5” Live Area: 7” x 9.875”

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PEOPLE

| HERITAGE | EVENTS | ARTS | ENTERTAINMENT

Irish Government to Investigate DNA Testing of Two Roma Children wo cases in late October in biologically related to her. In both which Irish police removed Irish cases, the children were also Roma children from their blonde and blue-eyed and did not homes in different parts of the country resemble their parents, leading many to perform DNA testing are being to question whether ethnic stereoreviewed by the Irish government. types played a role in the police’s “It’s only right and proper that we get action. a detailed report on what exactly hapIreland’s Ombudsman for Children, pened here,” Taoiseach Enda Kenny Emily Logan, has been given hitherto said. unprecedented special powers by the According to the police, in each Justice Minister to investigate the instance the children were removed Loredana and Iancu Muntean with their children, police force and will begin the investigation after tips that they might not have been Regina and Iancu, Jr. (2), who was taken by gardai. of discriminatory wrong-doing immediateliving with their biological parents. Both ly. Roma families are subject to many of the children, ages 7 and 2, were returned to their homes after DNA same prejudices as Irish Travelers, in addition to stereotypes about testing confirmed that they were the parents’ biological children. illegal adoption and human trafficking. The Traveler support group The seizures raised questions of racial profiling and stereotypes Pavee Point has called for an independent investigation. “There is a of the Roma community in Ireland and across Europe, and folreal danger that precipitative action, undertaken on the basis of lowed a high-profile case in Greece in which a light-skinned, blueappearance, can create the conditions for an increase in racism and eyed girl was found to be living with Roma parents who were not discrimination against the Roma community living here.” —A.F. THE IRISH TIMES

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IRELAND PLANS FOR END OF EU BAILOUT

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aoiseach Enda Kenny announced in October that Ireland was on a timeline to leave the European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout, as scheduled, in December of this year. Speaking at a Fine Gael party conference in Limerick, Kenny said,“Ireland is on track to exit the E.U.-I.M.F. bailout on December 15th.” He cautioned however that “it won’t mean that our financial troubles are over . . . There is still a long way to go, but at last the era of the bailout will be no more.The economic emergency will be over.”

On November 14, Kenny then confirmed that Ireland would indeed be breaking from the bailout program, and without the need for a precautionary credit line. This makes Ireland the first of four countries to exit the program and rely again solely on bond markets. Greece, Cyprus, and Portugal also received international support, though Ireland proved to be the most willing to implement austerity measures pushed by lenders like Germany, making it a test case for austerity measures.

Though Ireland’s financial independence will certainly put European creditors at ease, deputy director of the Center for European Reform Simon Tilford told the New York Times it may not necessarily mean others will follow. Still, the exit conveys that the worst of the European debt crisis is possibly over, and simple caution is the way to proceed.“The exit from the bailout is not an end in itself,” Taoiseach Kenny told his party.

“In fact it’s just the beginning. The beginning of our freedom to choose the kind of Ireland we want to build.” – A.F. 14 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

RINGING IN IRELAND’S TECH LEADERSHIP he ringing of the NASDAQ bell was heard in Dublin on October 30, when Taoiseach Enda Kenny opened the stock exchange, marking the first time ever the bell was rung in Ireland. Kenny, alongside NASDAQ executive vice president Bruce Aust, was at the Dublin Web Summit to mark this special occasion. Kenny was enthusiastic about the event and its significance to Ireland, commenting that “ringing the NASDAQ bell from Dublin is symbolic of Ireland’s prime position as a hub of digital enterprise and innovation.”

The Web Summit, one of the biggest tech conferences in Europe, has dramatically expanded since its introduction in 2010. This year alone over 10,000 people including such CEOs and tech gurus as Elon Musk, founder of PayPal and CEO of Tesla; Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL; and skater and philanthropist Tony Hawk; along with representatives from many up and coming start-ups, descended on Dublin to exchange ideas while promoting Irish investment both within Ireland and abroad. Paddy Cosgrave, founder of the Web Summit, which has brought hundreds of jobs to Ireland said, “It is important to us that we support Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland in promoting Irish companies and Ireland as an investment location.”

The symbolic ringing of the bells coincided with the Irish Stock Exchange and NASDAQ announcing that they will bring dual market access to Irish companies, allowing for Irish capital to be raised both in Ireland and America. – M.S.

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Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave, Taoiseach Enda Kenny and NASDAQ EVP Bruce Aust.

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Irish Wins and Record Numbers in 34th Dublin Marathon F

or the first time in 20 years, Irish runners won both the men’s and women’s races in the Dublin Marathon, held on October 28. Sean Herir, a primary school teacher from County Clare, won the men’s race with a time of 2:18:19, and Dublin’s own Maria McCambridge, whose family house in Rathgar was along the race course, came in first in the women’s race, finishing at 2:38:53 seconds, according to the Irish Times. The 26.2 mile course began at Fitzwilliam Square in the city center and proceeded

counterclockwise around the city, passing by landmarks like St. Stephen’s Green, the GPO, Phoenix Park, and going as far south as University College Dublin, before making its way back to the center to circle Trinity College and finish in Merrion Square.

Not since John Treacy and Cathy Shum won the marathon in 1993 have both top finishers been Irish natives, though this is in part due to a growing international field of elite competitors who have run the race in the years since. Last year, Kenya’s

Geoffrey Ndungu won the race with a time of 2:11:09. In fact, 11 of the last 19 Dublin Marathons have been won by elite Kenyan competitors.

This year, the race did not have a primary corporate sponsor when international invitations were supposed to be sent out, so the elite race was cut for financial reasons. By the time Airtricity signed on as headline sponsor, it was logistically too late to change.

In spite of this, the race drew over 14,500 runners, making it the largest Dublin Marathon ever held. Some 10,000 athletes were from Ireland and the rest were made up of 47 different nationalities who traveled to Ireland’s capital to compete. – A.F.

IRELAND CABINET APPROVES ALCOHOL BILL

SIGNS OF SUPPORT FOR EXPAT VOTE IN IRISH ELECTIONS

he Irish cabinet recently approved a new public health bill that will set a minimum price for drinks based on their alcohol content, while also restricting the advertising of alcohol products.The bill is the first of its kind.

The advertising of spirits will be revamped, with radio and television programming restricted to evening hours by 2016 and combined with more severe health warnings on alcoholic products. The Irish government spends an estimated 3.7 billion euros a year in alcohol-related health and crime costs. As Minister of Health James Reilly commented, “alcohol misuse in Ireland is a serious problem, with 2,000 of our hospital beds occupied each night by people with alcohol related illness or injury. This impacts on families and individuals at every level of society.”

The new bill sets a minimum price for some alcohols, but Minister of State for Primary Care Alex White has assured those wary of the bill that it will have no effect on the price of a pint in a pub. Many organizations are behind the new bill including the Irish Medical Organization, and Retail Ireland, a representative body for the leading supermarkets in Ireland, expressed optimism, provided similar legislation is passed in Northern Ireland. The comparative inexpense of alcohol in Northern Ireland has some worried that consumers will be spending their money across the border. In an effort to curb this, the government has announced a coalition to coordinate minimum pricing in the North. – M.S.

n late September, 78 percent of Ireland’s Convention on the Constitution voted to recommend extending the right to vote in presidential elections to Irish citizens who do not currently reside in the Republic of Ireland.

Founded in 2012, and more commonly known as the Constitutional Convention, the body researches and discusses proposed amendments to the Irish Constitution. Though the convention’s votes do not hold direct power to change the constitution, they are formally presented to the Irish government, which, in turn, must respond to the results of each vote the Convention presents.

During the Convention, members heard arguments and evidence from academics and lawyers, international experts and Irish expats. Members of Irish communities in Canada, Australia, France, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. all linked to the Convention via satellite.

The findings indicate the potential for a larger move towards allowing Irish citizens living abroad access to Irish elections in general. However, the question of exactly which citizens get to vote remained divisive. In response to the question “Which of these citizens living outside the island of Ireland should have the right to vote in presidential elections?” 26 percent answered only those who had lived in the Republic before, and 27 percent said only those who had lived in the Republic as adults. Thus, over 50 percent thought a residency requirement was necessary, versus the 36 percent who answered “All [of-age] Irish citizens resident outside the island of Ireland.” Eleven percent were undecided.

The issue is a marked one, because of the “citizenship by descent” law in the Republic, which makes eligible for citizenship first- and second-generation (and in rare cases more) descendants of Irish citizens, even if they or their parents have never lived in the Republic.

Additionally, 61 percent of Convention members thought there should be some length of time-limit on how long citizens of the Republic retain their voting privileges after leaving the Republic, ranging from five years to 25 years. – A.F.

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ICON of Ireland Founded in Dublin by two Irish doctors in 1990, the clinical research organization ICON plc is the global Irish success story you’ve probably never heard of.

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CON is one of the biggest Irish success stories you’ve likely never heard of. A clinical research organization (CRO), the company works largely behind the scenes. ICON partners with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies to perform research, development, and clinical trials – from compound selection to Phases I-IV. Due to the nature of the field (and the attendant confidentiality agreements) you won’t hear ICON talk about the groundbreaking research it’s had a hand in. But given that ICON has worked with nearly all of the top 20 pharmaceutical and biotech companies and has a presence in 37 countries, chances are you’ve directly benefited as a result of this Irish company’s work.

ICON was founded in 1990 by two Irish doctors, Ronan Lambe and John Climax.

From a staff of five people working out of a small Dublin office space, over the past two decades it has steadily grown and expanded its global presence to become a powerhouse with $1.3 billion in revenue and 10,300 employees around the world and counting.

CEO Ciarán Murray, who assumed the leadership role in 2011 after six years as chief financial officer, acknowledges that the very idea of an Irish CRO was a bit of a gamble. “We have just six million people on the island of Ireland, in comparison to about six million sheep and eight million cows. It really wouldn’t have been the most logical place to start a clinical trials company.” However, he posits that this apparent disadvantage played a significant role in ICON’s success. “It set us apart. A lot of people said, ‘A CRO from Ireland, what’s this about?’ So it prompted this curiosity that gave us the chance to present our pitch. And then we’ve always been really focused on delivery. We’ve always tried that bit harder, because we had to,” he explained recently over breakfast in Manhattan, where he now spends close to half of the year due to ICON’s strong presence in the U.S.

16 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

A glance at ICON’s timeline shows a trajectory of measured growth, a series of acquisitions and expansions that have allowed it to create the international presence necessary to compete with other top CROs. The first overseas office opened in the U.K. just one year after ICON was founded, and the year after that marked the opening of its first U.S. office in Philadelphia. They entered the Asian market in 1996 with offices in Tokyo, then South America in 1998 and Africa in 2002.

Even during Ireland’s worst recession years, which in 2010 saw ICON post its first-ever quarterly loss, it acquired Veeda Laboratories in the U.K. and Timaq Medical Imaging in Switzerland. It has also stepped in to acquire a number of Irish companies, such as Firecrest, a Limerickbased provider of clinical site technology solutions. Just a few weeks before Irish America talked to Murray, ICON reported a highly successful third quarter, with a net revenue growth of 19 percent to $339.8 million, setting the company on track for $1.3 billion in revenue for 2013.

It’s an exciting and competitive time for CROs, Murray explained. In the wake of what he describes as the “blockbuster drugs” of the ’90s, focus has shifted towards treatments for more complex and nuanced challenges, such as oncology and Alzheimer’s. This trickier territory, combined with stricter regulations and safety standards and changes in the health care industry as a whole, has resulted in pharmaceutical companies outsourcing more of their trials. “If you go back six or seven years, probably 20 to 25 percent of the studies were outsourced. Now it’s 40 percent and increasing, with a likelihood of going up to 70 percent in the next five to ten years,” he said.

But ICON is adept at adapting. Though the company is still headquartered in Ireland, just about seven percent of its workforce is stationed there, in Dublin and Limerick. Close to 40 percent of ICON’s employees are based in the U.S. (many in

North Wales, PA), the rest strategically positioned around the world, with an everincreasing presence in India (they employ 1,000 in Chennai) and China. Because language and cultural knowledge are necessities, the majority of the staff in these locations are local.

Still, even as ICON expands its operations globally, it remains markedly committed to its Irish roots. “How do you continue to be an Irish company, build the culture and promote the strengths when such a small percentage of the work force is in Ireland?” Murray asked. “We’re very conscious of that. So we have our leadership conferences in Ireland and we bring in staff from all over. Last year, Donal Og Cusak, the Cork hurler, came, and we had all our foreign guys and girls learning to hurl against him. We brought in some of the All Ireland footballers from Dublin and set up Gaelic football pitches inside the Ritz Carlton just outside of Dublin.”

ICON conducts its leadership training courses with University College Dublin, bringing in 150 senior leaders each year.

They have also partnered with the Gaelic Players Association to create a scholarship program that encourages county players interested in life sciences to continue their education and advance career-wise. “The levels that these players train at is more or less professional now, and you want to make sure that, as young people, they keep an eye on their education, so we’re very conscious of that,” he said. “In addition, we’ve just developed a program in clinical trial management with UCD. We developed the syllabus with them and about 20 students signed on, from all over the world.” If the pilot year goes well, ICON and UCD will consider bringing the program to China and the U.S. “We’re proud of being an Irish company, and as we make sure that we are the best and do the best, we also try to make sure that it reflects our culture and values,” he added.

Murray has an exceptionally keen

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Ciarán Murray, CEO of ICON

understanding of both the advantages and difficulties of being an Irish company that operates on a global scale. “We get a lot of value out of the fact that we’re the only non-U.S. company out of the top eight [CROs] in the world,” he emphasized, “and I think that’s part of why we were able to grow so quickly. Other European CROs didn’t grow as quickly as we did.

ICON, because we were in Ireland, we had no choice but to go out and look for opportunities outside of our own market.”

In the U.S., he said, being an Irish company has a definite advantage. “The IrishAmerican affinity has been helpful to us in doing business here. Through family ties and knowledge, people here have, generally, a very positive attitude towards Ireland.” He also maintained that, because of the sheer size of ICON’s presence in the U.S. and how early on it became a key part of the business, many within the company view its success story as Irish-American.

In keeping with its strong American ties, earlier in the year ICON moved its primary listing from the Irish Stock Exchange to the NASDAQ, where it had previously been an ADR (American Depository Receipt).

Elsewhere abroad, particularly in Asia,

Murray noted, Ireland has a rather different reputation. “When I go to Asia, I sometimes have the opposite problem I have in this part of the world, where people occasionally think of Ireland as small and cute and green. The people who work for us know it mostly as home to a top CRO. Other people say ‘Oh Ireland, that’s Europe’s tech power house,’ and then they’re surprised to learn how small it is.”

One of the strengths he sees in being an Irish company is that the Irish seem to have a natural friendliness and openness that allows them to get along with many other nationalities. “We’re also unencumbered by a global military or colonial history, which, interestingly, puts Ireland in a very good position for doing business with Africa and China,” he noted.

Perhaps it is Murray’s own experience that granted him such insights and prepared him to lead one of Ireland’s most international companies. After qualifying as a chartered accountant with PwC (then Coopers & Lybrand) in Dublin, he relocated to Milan with the firm in 1989.

There he joined Kraft, which had recently been acquired by Philip Morris, and a few years later transferred with them to

London before returning to Ireland just as it entered its “Silicon Isle” years. With the tech firm Novell Inc., Murray was constantly back and forth between Ireland and California, which he credits with making him more optimistic and forward-looking. ICON approached him in 2005, and he joined as CFO to help the company build a more robust financial structure as it globalized.

In November, on Murray’s immediate horizon there was a trade mission to Japan with Taoiseach Enda Kenny. After that, he said, he would be meeting with the head of an up-and-coming pharmaceutical company in Seoul, South Korea.

As for ICON, its long-term outlook will focus primarily on three strategic factors, all centered on the way clients are changing. “The basic thesis for a business like ours is that we’re a professional services business, so we have to keep very much in tune with our clients’ needs. We’re not going to re-invent the Internet or penicillin, you know?” he mused. “But as we take on more, we do need to build a range of skill sets across multiple jurisdictions in the world, and the best way to do that is through partnering with academia, with schools like UCD, to attract the best graduates.”

The second factor, he said, would be employing new clinical technology to speed up and better chart the data of clinical trials, which can often take as long as 10 to 15 years. “With more real-time, adaptive analysis, safety improves and results improve,” he said.

The third strategic factor encompasses what ICON seems to have known and excelled at from the start: expanding geographically. “We’re going to see a lot more growth in Asia,” Murray predicted. “At the moment we have almost 20 percent of our workforce in Asia – 10 percent in India and 10 percent in the rest of Asia. In three to five years, you could see that go to 30 percent. And as we grow, the challenge is one of adapting to new cultures and languages, and keeping the culture of ICON and the values we have.”

Twenty years down the road – or, in all likelihood, sooner – chances are we will be talking about ICON as an Irish-AmericanIA Asian success story.

– Sheila Langan DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 IRISH AMERICA 17

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{hibernia} Five Irish Make Forbes Rich List

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fter a one year hiatus (the 2012 race basketball at school. The husband and wife was canceled in the wake of team stuck by each other throughout the Hurricane Sandy) and amidst marathon, finishing at 3:54:11 (Colin) and heightened security, the New York City 3:54:12 (Stephanie).

Marathon retuned to the streets of the In the women’s para-athlete wheelchair metropolis’s five boroughs on November 3. division, Tatyana McFadden won by a landTwo million spectators cheered on 48,000 runners, some of whom participated to win, some for fun, and others to raise money for various charities and causes.

There were 387 Irish runners across more than 20 teams. Wayne Reid (32) was the male Irish winner (235th overall, 212 gender place) with a time of 2:48:40. A former Iron Man competitor from Athlone, he is deaf and signs for RTE. Margaret McMahon (47) was the female Irish winner (1,620 overall, 112 gender place), with a time of 3:11:26. slide, completing the Kevin Armstrong, a sports 26.2-mile course in writer for the Daily News, 1:59:13, three-and-ahad planned to run last year, half minutes faster than when his mother (“an Irish her closest competitor, immigrant fond of taking the Wakako Tsuchida of long way”) was a patient at Japan. McFadden, who the Sloan-Kettering Cancer was born in Russia, Center and had a view of suffered from spina the Queensboro Bridge. Top: Tatyana McFadden is congratu- bifida at birth and spent Following her death in lated by her mother, Debbie. the first six years of her March, Reid dedicated the Above: Colin and Stephanie Mathers. life in an impoverished 2013 race to her and ran with Fred’s Team, orphanage, walking with her arms. In 1994, which raises money for Sloan-Kettering. she was adopted by Debbie McFadden, who, Donations this year raised $4.1 million. after visiting Tatyana’s orphanage on busiColin and Stephanie Mathers, Irish exness as the commissioner of disabilities for pats living in Queens, ran for the Rory the U.S. Health Department, felt a strong Staunton Foundation, which promotes connection with the young girl and brought awareness of childhood sepsis. Rory her to the U.S. In fourth place was Amanda Staunton died of undiagnosed sepsis in 2012, McGrory, who still holds the course record just days after receiving a cut while playing of 1:50:25, set in 2011. – A.F. and S.L

Irish Priest Wins International Peace Award

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r. Patrick Devine, a native of Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon, was awarded the 2013 International Caring Award in Washington, D.C. on October 31.

Fr. Patrick Devine receives the 2013 He received the honor in recognition of his International Caring Award from Val continuing conflict resolution and reconcili- Halamandaris, the institute’s founder and executive director. ation work in Kenya, through the Shalom Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation (SCCRR), which he founded there in 2009. Fr. Devine has spent over 20 years in eastern Africa. Previous recipients of the award, given by the Caring Institute, include Senator George Mitchell, Mother Teresa, President Jimmy Carter, and the Dalai Lama.

PHOTO BY: THE CARING INSTITUTE.

ccording to the annual Forbes Billionaires’ Circle list, which ranks in order the world's most richest people, five of the 1,426 billionaires in the world are Irish.

The richest man in Ireland is the construction mogul Pallonji Mistry, ranked 103, with $10.5 billion.

Formerly chairman of the Indiabased behemoth Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Mistry officially handed over the role to his eldest son, Shapoor, in June. His family is also the primary stake-holder in the $100 billion holding company Tata Sons.

Second in Ireland is Denis O’Brien, 2012 Irish America Business 100 Keynote Speaker (and a 2013 honoree) and founder of the telecom giant Digicel. Currently ranked number 233 in the world with a wealth estimated at $5.2 billion, O’Brien operates his Caribbean cell phone company with an ethic of 80 percent business, 20 percent philanthropy, Forbes says.

Though John Dorrance III holds Irish citizenship, making him the third richest in Ireland and number 613 in the world, the man behind the $2.4 billion fortune was born in the United States as the inheritor of the Campbell’s Soup dynasty. He became an Irish citizen in 1994, “presumably” according to Forbes, “to avoid paying capital gains taxes.”

Martin Naughton, founder of the electrical heating appliance company Glen Dimplex (and another Business 100 honoree), is ranked four in Ireland and 736 world-wide with $2 billion. A trustee emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, he gives annual scholarships to Irish students to attend college and was a significant force in bringing Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish football team to Dublin last year.

Rounding out the billionaire Irishmen is the financier Dermot Desmond with $1.8 billion, ranked 831, whose self-made fortune comes from the private equity firm International Investment & Underwriting he founded in 1994.

– A.F.

The Irish in the New York Marathon

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{ irish eye on hollywood}

By Tom Deignan The Academy Award nominations will not be announced until January 16, 2014, but one of Hollywood’s strongest contenders – expected to get serious consideration in several categories when the Oscar winners are announced in March – is an Irish movie in theaters now.

Philomena, starring Steve Coogan and Judi Dench, tells the story of an Irish woman who became scandalously pregnant in 1950s Ireland and was forced to give up her son for adoption. Many years later, Philomena’s story winds up in the hands of a journalist played by Coogan, who helps initiate a Judi Dench and Steve Coogan

Saoirse

search for the Irish woman’s long-lost son.

Ronan Coogan co-wrote the script, which won the Best Screenplay Award at The Venice International Film Festival, and is considered a likely nominee for an Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

Coogan (whose mother was Irish) said his roots influenced his performance in the film.

"There are people in my life who are Catholic and I love them and respect them. I don’t share all their views but I wanted to dignify them within a discussion about other things,” the actor told The Irish Independent.

“Although it wasn’t my story, I used it as a way to have a discussion about issues of faith.”

Also considered a strong contender for an Oscar nod in the Best Supporting Actor category is Michael Fassbender, whose mother is also Irish. Fassbender took on the challenge of playing one of the most reprehensible villains in recent cinematic memory, the loathsome slave owner Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave.

Finally, the Irish-produced animated film The Missing Scarf has been long-listed for an Oscar nod in the Animated Short category.

20 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Written and directed by Eoin Duffy, and narrated by Star Trek legend George Takei, The Missing Scarf is a black comedy that exposes viewers to the dark side of life, all seemingly told as if it were a children’s storybook.

Saoirse Ronan has been struggling to find a movie project that will connect with audiences and critics in the same way The Lovely Bones and Atonement (for which she received an Oscar nomination) did. Her most recent film, November’s The Way I Live Now, was based on the acclaimed young adult novel about love in the midst of the apocalypse.

However, the film came and went with more of a whimper than a bang.

Now, Ronan is calling on some Irish heavyweights for a future project.

It appears she will be playing the lead role in the long-anticipated adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s 2009 novel Brooklyn. The novel tells the story of young and sheltered Irish girl named Eilis Lacey. (One web site quipped that the Irish actress with the hard-to-pronounce name was going to play an Irish character with another hard-to-pronounce name.)

Brooklyn is set in the 1950s, when Eilis leaves rural Ireland behind to pursue a life in the bustling New York borough. She finds work and then an unlikely lover in Tony, from a large Italian American family, who squires Eilis around, from Coney Island to Ebbets Field.

Ah, but this tale is, among many other things, very much an immigrant’s tale, a story of being from two places and not feeling at home in either one. Soon enough, Eilis feels Ireland pulling her back, and she must decide where her future lies.

Fittingly, Brooklyn – which was a bestseller and won several awards for Tóibín – will be directed by acclaimed Irish director John Crowley (Intermission, Boy A).

“I think it’s a story that we’ve never seen on film, certainly not from Ireland, yet,” Crowley was recently quoted as saying. “I think it’s an amazing story about Europe and America in the 20th century.

It’s like an epic and a postage stamp at the same time. It’s exquisite.”

Acclaimed British novelist Nick Hornby has already adapted Brooklyn for the big screen.

Shooting is slated to begin next year.

Until then, look for Ronan in Wes Anderson’s next starstudded film The Grand Budapest Hotel and in Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut How to Catch a Monster.

It may be a blessing or a curse, but either way, for Irish actor Jamie Dornan, it’s one hot job. After much controversy, Dornan – born in Belfast – has been tapped as the male lead in the much-hyped, hyper-sexual Fifty Shades of Grey

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adaptation. Dornan was not the first choice, unfortunately. That was actor Charlie Hunnam, best known for playing Jax Teller on the gritty TV drama Sons of Anarchy. Alas, rabid fans of the naughty novel were apparently not thrilled at the thought of the grungy Hunnam playing cool millionaire Christian Grey. Enter Dornan, whose previous acting work includes the film Marie Antoinette, the ABC TV show Once Upon a Time, and the BBC crime drama The Fall, set in his native city. Whether or not Fifty Shades will match the hype remains to be seen. Either way, the world is surely going to see a whole new side of Jamie Dornan.

Colin Farrell has a role in the

Acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh is venturing into TV with an upcoming 10-part drama called The Knick. Early word is that Eve Hewson (otherwise known as Bono’s daughter) will join the cast along with Irish American newcomer Collin Meath, who will play an Irish cop named Phinny Sears. The Knick is set at the Knickerbocker Hospital in 1900s New York, at a time when doctors were experimenting with radical new forms of surgery and medication.

Jamie Dornan

holiday season hit Saving Mr. Banks, about the making of the Mary Poppins film. And Farrell’s got a busy 2014 to look forward to. Perhaps most talked about is the fantasy film Winter’s Tale, a time-traveling epic that zips across the 20th century, also starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connolly. Next year, also look for Farrell in the very serious film Miss Julie, based on the August Strindberg play, and directed by Norwegian cinema legend Liv Ullmann.

Finally, Farrell will play a serial killer in the thriller Solace, also starring Anthony Hopkins and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Colin Farrell

Irish-born director Ruairi Robinson is hoping his recent sci-fi feature Last Days on Mars (starring Liev Schreiber, who made a splash playing an Irish American in Showtime’s Ray Donovan) is a harbinger for a big 2014. Robinson is currently planning to shoot a movie called The Fallen, described as a Cold War spy flick, and he is also hoping to turn his short film The Blinky – which he has described as “Poltergeist, Gremlins or E.T. with robots” – into a full-length feature.

Colm Meaney

Colm Meaney is among the stars of One Chance, which has already been released in Ireland and is currently slated for a late December release in the U.S. One Chance is a kind of male version of the Susan Boyle story. Paul Potts was an anonymous Welshman who one day showed up on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent.

Well, it turns out the guy can sing opera with the best of them! The film explores how sudden stardom affected Potts and his family.

Finally, two lesser-known Irish films from Hollywood legend John Ford are now available for a new generation of movie lovers.

Turner Classic Movies, Columbia Pictures and the Film Foundation recently released a boxed DVD set entitled John Ford: The Columbia Films Collection. The set contains five films from the beloved director of classic Irish movie fare such as The Informer and The Quiet Man. Most intriguing is 1955’s The Long Gray Line, featuring Irish American Tyrone Power as ambitious Irish immigrant Marty Maher, who went to work at the United States Military Academy at West Point as a civilian worker and ended up becoming an institution at the academy, serving for five decades as an athletic instructor and noncommissioned officer.

Ford regulars Maureen O’Hara (also playing an Irish immigrant) and Ward Bond also appear in The Long Gray Line, which has long been out of circulation.

Also part of this new Ford boxed set is The Last Hurrah, based on the best-selling novel by Edwin O’Connor, about an old-time Boston Irish politician trying to win one more election.

The Whole Town’s Talking, Gideon’s Day and Two Rode Together round out this impressive Ford collection.

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Irish Writers in America Premieres A new series by the City University of New York’s TV station covers uncharted territory in conversations with some of Ireland’s and Irish America’s most creative minds.

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he 13-part interview series Irish Writers in America premiered on November 22, its first episode featuring two ostensibly different luminaries: author Colum McCann (TransAtlantic, Let the Great World Spin) and funnyman/TV host Conan O’Brien. Over the course of the episode’s twenty-seven-odd

Inspired by CUNY TV’s highly successful Black Writers in America series, which was hosted by Ossie Davis and went on to be distributed to national public television stations, Irish Writers in America features 23 cultural icons most people would give anything to sit down and have a chat with: John Banville,

John Banville, Enda Walsh, Roddy Doyle, Dennis Lehane

minutes (split between McCann first and O’Brien second), the camera, deftly directed by Lisa Beth Kovetz, allows each of the men to just be themselves as they ponder questions of identity and creativity. By the end, we understand a whole lot more about what separates them, as two individuals from different backgrounds and vantage points, but also the little things that make them surprisingly similar.

Kevin Barry, Jimmy Breslin, Billy Collins, Roddy Doyle, Jennifer Egan, Anne Enright, Mannix Flynn, Pete Hamill, Mary Beth Keane, William Kennedy, Dennis Lehane, Kenneth Lonergan, Colum McCann, Malachy McCourt, Alice McDermott, Paul Muldoon, Conan O’Brien, Edna O’Brien, Joseph O’Neill, John Patrick Shanley, Colm Tóibín and Enda Walsh. Watching these unusually quiet and intimate por-

McCourt School of Public Policy Opens at Georgetown University

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eorgetown University opened its first new school since 1957 after the donation of $100 million by alumnus Frank H. McCourt, Jr. The newly christened McCourt School of Public Policy is the university’s ninth. According to the Washington Post, the idea for a new public policy institute surfaced at a 2006 board meeting at which the president of the university floated the notion and McCourt took a bite. President John DeGioia told the Post, “Frank came up to me in a coffee break that day and said, ‘This is an idea I could get very excited about.’”

Though McCourt (no relation to the late writer Frank McCourt) is best known nationally for his troubled tenure of the LA Dodgers which ended in the team’s 2011 bankruptcy, locally he is known for his deep devotion to Georgetown. His father, his two brothers, and one of his four sons all graduated from the university, and from 2005 to 2011 he served on the board of directors.

The reason for the new school, McCourt said in a press release, is that “the issues facing global leaders are more acute, dynamic and interrelated than ever before. We recognize an opportunity here to serve the world in a new way through an innovative approach to public policy research and analysis.”

McCourt’s endowment will provide full scholarships to entice high-performing students to pursue research at the school’s Massive Data Institute, which focuses on analyzing 21st-century government data in order to understand broader trends in education, health, poverty, and other public policy issues of the modern age. – A.F.

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trayals, mostly free of narration or any bells and whistles, it’s almost as if the viewer has been invited to do just that.

The interviews, some of which include readings, were recorded in a variety of locations, from the writers’ homes to different quiet points around New York City.

Most of the episodes feature two interviews back-to-back – some pairings are immediately understandable (William Kennedy and Pete Hamill), others more surprising (Kevin Barry and Mary Beth Keane) – but a few are devoted solely to one person, as is the case with Anne Enright, Alice McDermott and Jimmy Breslin.

Each episode will air on Fridays at 9am, 2pm, and 8pm; Saturdays at 7pm; Sundays at 8:30 am; and will be archived for viewing anytime at www.cuny.tv.

There, viewers will also find web extras.

CUNY TV is broadcast on Ch. 25.3 in the tri-state region, and cablecast in the five boroughs of New York City on Ch. 75 (Time Warner and Optimum), Ch. 77 (RCN) and Ch. 30 (Verizon). Those living outside the New York metro area, fear not: the series will also be live-streamed for mobile, tablet and desktop viewing on Aereo.com. – S.L.

Boston Crime Boss Bulger Gets Two Life Sentences

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otorious Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger was sentenced on November 14.

He received two life sentences in prison, plus five years, from U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper. She also ordered Bulger to pay the families of his victims $19.5 million in restitution, and to forfeit $25.2 million to the government. These sums, like the two life sentences (Bulger is 84), were seen as mainly symbolic, as his fortune, if one remains, has not yet been discovered.

Bulger, who ruled Boston’s organized crime world for the better part of two decades (operating with impunity as an informant to corrupt FBI agents), was convicted earlier this year of participating in 11 murders, drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering and extortion, among other crimes.The trial lasted

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Irish Involvement in Global Wildlife Trafficking Rackets

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hough the crime happened three years ago, the first week of November saw Limerick native Michael Slattery, Jr. (23) plead guilty to the charge of wildlife trafficking at a Brooklyn District Court. In 2010, two Irish men gave a homeless man an envelope with $18,000 in cash in it and instructed him to purchase the head of a rhinoceros at a taxidermy auction in Austin,Texas. The man obliged, purchased the head, and brought it out to the parking lot where the Irish men sawed off the horns. A few weeks later, the horns were packed up with forged bills of sale and driven to Queens, NY, where they were sold for $50,000. From Flushing, the horns entered a world-wide trafficking ring that spreads from Rathkeale to Saigon, where rhinoceros horns can go for more than $5,000 per pound because they are thought to have restorative and curative powers.

Slattery, a presumed member of the criminal organization the Rathkeale Rovers, faces a minimum two-year sentence.The arrest for this three-year-old crime highlights the growing involvement of Irish organized crime syndicates like the Rovers, who have been targeted by Europol for stealing rhinoceros horns from art galleries, museums, and even zoos, according to the New York Times. – A.F.

Bringing Home the Bacon A

new record was set in the art auction world on November 12, at Christie’s auction house in New York. Three Studies of Lucian Freud, a 1969 triptych

by Francis Bacon of his friend and fellow artist Lucian Freud, was purchased by art dealer William Acquavella on behalf of an unnamed client for $142.2 million – the highest price ever paid for an artwork sold at auction. The previous recordholder, Edvard Munch’s The Scream, went for $120 million at Sotheby’s in 2012.

Though he spent most of his working years in London, Bacon was born in Ireland on October 28, 1909, at 63 Lower Baggot Street in Dublin, and lived in Ireland until he was 16. In 1998, six years after Bacon’s death, the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin acquired his London studio and the 7,000 items it contained. The studio was relocated piece by piece and then rebuilt in the city of his birth.

Prior to Three Studies of Lucian Freud, the highest price ever paid for one of Bacon’s works was $86.3 million, by Russian businessman Richard Abramovich in 2008, for a 1976 triptych. After wide spread speculation concerning identity of the Lucian Freud triptych’s new owner, reports have emerged that the winning bid was placed by Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani of Qatar’s royal family. With lead discretion over the family’s art-buying budget, she also directly bought Paul Cezanne’s The Card Players last year for $250 million, the highest price ever paid for a painting.

On November 14, the Hugh Lane Gallery opened a new exhibition featuring photographs of Lucian Freud from Bacon’s studio. It runs through January 12. – S.L.

Caroline Kennedy Is Now Madam Ambassador

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for two months. He had been previously indicted for racketeering in 1995, but managed to flee from Boston to a life on the lam. He was one of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted (second, for a time, to only Osama Bin Laden) until a tip led to his June 2011 capture in Santa Monica, CA. Despite his attorneys’ objections, Judge Casper also ruled that Bulger, who remained silent for much of the trial, would hear statements from each of the murder victims’ families. – S.L.

aroline Kennedy was sworn in as the new U.S. ambassador to Japan during a private ceremony in Secretary of State John Kerry’s State Department offices on November 12. The swearing-in was followed by a tea ceremony and reception at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae.

The appointment marks Kennedy’s first official diplomatic endeavor, though she has long played a role in U.S. politics, most recently with her endorsements of President Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections. “Japan knows that it is getting an envoy who has the ear of the president. And that, as we all know, is a vital thing in the conduct of foreign policy,” Secretary Kerry said during the reception.

The 55-year-old attorney, bestselling book editor, deft political influencer and only surviving child of President Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis arrived with her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, in Tokyo on November 15, a week before the 50th anniversary of her father’s assassination. “I bring greetings from President Obama. . . . I am honored to represent him as the United States Ambassador. I am Kennedy is sworn in as Ambassador to also proud to carry forward my Caroline Japan by Secretary of State John Kerry. Her husfather’s legacy of public service,” band, Edwin Schlossberg, holds the Bible. she said. – S.L. DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 IRISH AMERICA 23

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Celebrating THE WALL STREET

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rish America’s 16th Anniversary Wall Street 50 dinner took place on September 15 at the New York Yacht Club, co-hosted by Titanic Quarter with the support of Invest Northern Ireland.

In addition to his fellow honorees, the event recognized James J. O’Donnell, Citi’s out- 1 standing Head of Investor Sales and Relationship Management, who delivered the keynote address. Publisher Niall O’Dowd and Editor-in-Chief Patricia Harty presented O’Donnell with the keynote speaker award – a House of Waterford Crystal King’s Bowl. O’Donnell’s moving and funny speech touched upon the importance of family. Both of his parents were present, and he talked about his dad’s accomplished Wall Street career and his mom, a nurse, whom he described as a model of perseverance and hard work. He also commended his Wall Street colleagues for their steadfast and vital philanthropy.

O’Donnell was introduced by Suni Harford, Citi’s Regional Head of Sales for North America, who also has Irish roots.

Attendees included Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness, Ambassador Anne Anderson, Consul General Noel Kilkenny, and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who received an Irish Spirit award. Singer Andy Cooney brought the evening to a lyrical close.

PHOTOS: BEN ASEN & NUALA PURCELL

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1. The 2013 Irish America Wall Street 50 honorees, with First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, and New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. 2. Niall O’Dowd and Patricia Harty present Jim O’Donnell with a Waterford Crystal King’s Bowl.

3. Lorraine Turner and honoree Anita Sands lead the applause. 4. Joan and Tom Moran, Chairman & CEO of Mutual of America, are pictured with Commissioner Ray Kelly. 5. Ambassador Anne Anderson.

6. Kate Overbeck, Irish America’s VP Marketing, and Dave Aldrich. 7. Ed Kenney, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Joe Hummel. 8. Terry Clune, founder of ConnectIreland 9. David Gavaghan of Titanic Quarter. 10. Michael Graham, Conal Harvey and Pat Doherty of Titanic Quarter. 11. Comm.

Kelly and Patricia Harty. 12. PwC’s mates: honoree Rob MacGoey, Andy O’Callaghan, Damian Neylin, and honoree Martin Kehoe. 13. Suni Harford, Citi’s Regional Head of Sales for North America.

UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Dublin, Ireland proudly congratulates Michael Dowling, Chairman of our North American Board Along with the following board members, alumni and friends Tom Codd

John Fitzpatrick

Trevor Madigan

A James DeHayes

Gordon Hardie

Tom Moran

John Drew

Shaun Kelly

Kathleen Murphy

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Ireland’s Youngest Tech Entrepreneur:

Jordan Casey W ith the launch of his first game, Alien Ball Vs. Humans, in February 2012, Jordan Casey became Ireland’s youngest app developer and one of the youngest tech entrepreneurs in Europe. All of 12-years-old at the time of game’s release, Casey, who lives in Waterford, had been teaching himself code for three years already – initially unbeknownst to his parents, Clyde and Louise, who assumed he was just playing games on the computer he’d begged them for, not learning how to design them.

The game reached the top of various app charts, and in the close to two years since then, Casey has achieved what many people twice – make that three times – his age merely dream of: He founded his own company, Casey Games. He has designed more games, for both iOS and Flash, and has been invited to deliver TED talks, present at the prestigious Cannes Lions Festival for Creativity in Communications, and speak to entrepreneurs at events in Silicon Valley and around the world. He’s also been an advocate for brining coding education programs, such as the popular Coder Dojo, to kids throughout Ireland.

In August, Jordan came to New York to mark the launch of Casey Games’ newest release, My Little World, with an event organized by the Irish International Business Network at the Apple store in SoHo. There, he was interviewed before an impressive audience of Irish American business leaders and tech enthusiasts young and old, and gave a demo of the new game.

After, the wise beyond his years and astoundingly down-to-earth 13-year-old took a few minutes to speak with Irish America.

What was the inspiration behind My Little World? Is JC [the main player character] like you?

Yeah, he’s kind of like me. When I was younger I used to go out in my Nan’s garden and there were all these slugs. I would make cardboard houses and civilizations for them. So I thought it would be cool to kind of shrink down to their size and see what the world looks like to them.

Between asking for advice, getting feedback and connecting with peo26 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

ple, it sounds like Twitter has played a pretty big role?

Yeah. I would be nowhere without Twitter. Like, when I started doing Club Penguin blogging [Casey’s blog about the popular multi-player game was his first online endeavor], there would have been no other way to get publicity from it. I started using Twitter five years ago, maybe, and nearly everything that’s come about has been in some way because of it. I’ve made so many friends. This [IIBN] event came from Twitter, my first conference came from Twitter; it’s all Twitter. . . . It’s probably more important than email.

Have you taught your parents how to code?

I’ve attempted to, but they weren’t really into it. I think it’s pretty intimidating; it’s harder to learn a new language when you’re older.

But your younger brother is interested?

Yeah Isaac is, he’s 10. But instead of the blogging he’s really into YouTube-ing videos about games, and the latest news on whatever game he’s playing. I’ve taught him how to do HTML, and he’s interested, but he’s sort of where I was when I didn’t know if I was actually going to do this or just have it as a hobby. Hopefully he gets into it.

When did you first know that coding was something you liked and were good at?

Well, when I released my website for the Club Penguin game, I didn’t think much about it, but then other people who were playing the game started visiting it and they said it was really good, probably one of the best they’d seen, even, so that’s sort of when I realized ‘This is what I want to do.’ I learned a lot more programming languages and I kept working on the website for a while. And then I was looking at other fields I could explore and started thinking about games. That was about a year after I got enough hits on the website to make money from it, and I just knew it was something I really wanted to do.

Your next project is pretty different from the games. Where did the idea for TeachWare come from?

I noticed that people in tech companies are so big on education, but there’s nothing there for the teachers. The biggest competitor is basically Excel, which costs $100, and then if you want to get the iPad app you have to enter it all manually, transferring from program to program. So I think this could be a game-changer because it’s the first cloud app of its kind, but it doesn’t present the cloud in a big, tech-heavy way.

I’ve tested it out with a lot of teachers and they seem enthusiastic. It’s going to be free and online, so you just create an account and student profiles with all their contact information, their homework, attendance, exam management, etc.

At the conferences, what has it been like to talk in front of so many people and other high-profile CEOs? It’s been pretty nerve-wracking. Like when I started last year I really wasn’t confident at all. In school, I always went red and didn’t want to talk. My first conference [The Cannes Lion festival last June] was one of the biggest I’ve done, actually. It was about 3,000 people there and 20,000 watching the live stream. But I realized that I’m really nervous beforehand, but once I get on and start talking, I just think about it as a normal conversation. So I get more used to it every time.

What advice do you give to people who want to do what you do?

Start young. Think of it as a head start, really. In 10 years I’ll be 23 and I’ll already have 14 years experience of what it’s like to work, and that will be very important. In the next 10 years, so many things are going to be digitized, especially education, so start as young as possible, is what I’d say.

– Sheila Langan

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Honoring the Irish Heroes of New England I

t has been a tough year for New England. But from the tragedy of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings to the horrors of the Boston Marathon bombings and the manhunt that followed, New Englanders displayed extraordinary courage, compassion and resilience. A number of Connecticut and Massachusetts residents of Irish descent were commended for their bravery and generosity at the Irish Heroes of New England awards, held on November 7 at Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall and presented by the Irish Emigrant newspaper in collaboration with IrishCentral.com and Irish America magazine.

The 2013 Heroes were: Lt. Sean O’Brien of the Boston Fire Department, who saved many lives in the immediate aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings; Lt. J. Paul Vance, Commanding Officer and CT State Police Public Information Office, who served as a spokesperson and reassuring voice of reason in the aftermath of the shootings at Sandy Hook elementary school; Officer Richard Donohue of the MBTA Transit Police, who was seriously injured during the pursuit of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects; Officer Richard Moriarty, Boston Police Department, who assisted in saving Officer Donohue’s life while under fire from the Boston Marathon bombing suspects; Michael Sheehan, CEO of Hill Holliday (a 2013 Business 100 honoree), and James D. Gallagher, EVP of John Hancock, who co-founded the highly successful One Fund Boston to provide financial aid to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings; Alana and Claire O’Brien, co-founders of Dance Out For Jane, an Irish-dance-themed fundraiser to benefit Boston Marathon bombing victim Jane Richard, which inspired similar events across the U.S.; and Ken Casey, lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys, for his fundraising efforts and his Claddagh Fund’s ongoing support of many local charities.

Boston Mayor-elect Marty Walsh, the son of Galway immigrants, gave an unplanned appearance and speech at the event – one of his first since winning the city’s votes on November 5. “It just shows you how strong we are as a country, how strong we are as a region in New England, and how strong we are as a city in Boston,” he said, “and all the remarkable people that step up to the plate when it’s needed, whether it’s an act of bravery in a particular incident or how we come together as a community.”

ALL PHOTOS BY SANDIE ALLEN

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The 2013 Irish Heroes of New England

Bill and Denise Richard, parents of Martin, who was killed in the marathon bombings, and Jane, who lost one of her legs, with Mayor Marty Walsh and Claire and Alana O’Brien, who rallied the Irish dance community in fundraising efforts for the Richard family.

Quinnipiac President John Lahey presents Lt. J. Paul Vance with a Certificate of Irish Heritage

Mayor-elect Marty Walsh, Irish Consul General to Boston Breandán Ó Caollaí, Ruairi Twomey of Diageo-Guinness, and President of Quinnipiac University and 2012 honoree Dr. John L. Lahey.

JP and Mary Doherty; Siobhan, Carmel and Consul General Breandán Ó Caollaí, and publisher Niall O’Dowd.

Members of the Boston Police Gaelic Column Officer Richard Donohue, Jr. with his father, Richard Sr. Pipes & Drums Band.

Irish Post Celebrates British-Irish Business Leaders

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ABOVE: Niamh and Michael Flatley with Eamonn Holmes. RIGHT: Chris Ruane MP, Baroness Bottomley, Irish Post publisher Elgin Loane, editor Siobhan Breatnach and Sir Peter Bottomley.

he Irish Post newspaper in London celebrated its inaugural Business Gala Dinner and Awards on October 31 at the Dorchester Hotel on Hyde Park. Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley received a Lifetime Achievement award; Ray O’Rourke, KBE, the executive chairman of Laing O’Rourke, was celebrated as Outstanding Contributor to Business in Britain; Rosaleen Blair, founder and CEO of Alexander Mann Solutions, accepted the award for Company of the Year; and chairman of Addison Lee John Griffin was honored as Business Person of the Year. Editor of London’s City A.M. business paper Allister Heath and Irish America publisher Niall O’Dowd delivered the keynote addresses.The event was emceed by broadcaster Eamonn Holmes.

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{hibernia} “The first mistake was to make citizens pay for it. In a conventional bankruptcy if you are the owner of a firm that goes bankrupt you suffer.... The European Central Bank and others in Europe wanted to save the banks and the other investors in Europe... so it was really a trade off between banks all over Europe and Irish citizens. It was Irish citizens not so much bailing out the economy as bailing out the bondholders. . . .

We know that austerity has essentially never worked, and why that was not understood by the European leaders is beyond me. . . Will you get back to the growth path you were on? Almost surely, no. Will you get back to where you were with maybe a lost decade? Yes, I think you will.

But it will be a lost decade, at least.”

– Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz on RTE’s Morning Ireland. November 8.

“My earliest memories are of Ireland. Dad moved the family there in 1953. His first visit had been two years earlier, in 1951, before I was born. He’d been invited by Oonagh, Lady Oranmore and Browne, to stay at her house, Luggala, and attend a hunt ball in Dublin at the Gresham Hotel. Dad had watched as the young members of the legendary Galway Blazers played a game of follow-the-leader that involved angry waiters swinging champagne buckets, and men leaping off a balcony onto the dining tables, as the music played on into the night and the whiskey flowed. Dad said that he had expected someone would be killed before the ball was over. In the days following, he fell in love with the scenic beauty of the country.”

– Anjelica Huston, writing in her new memoir A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in Ireland, London and New York.

Quote Unquote Irish and Irish-American perspectives

“[I would] love to see them evolve towards a new title of the Friendly Sons and Daughters of St Patrick. . . . Change is not going to happen overnight but they are open to dialogue.”

– Irish Ambassador to the U.S. Anne Anderson, recounting her talk with the Washington D.C. men’s only chapter of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, to Simon Carswell of the Irish Times. October 5.

“The hard work of forging freedom and democracy is the task of a generation. This includes efforts to resolve sectarian tensions that continue to surface in places like Iraq, Syria and Bahrain. Ultimately, such long-standing issues cannot be solved by outsiders; they must be addressed by Muslim communities themselves. But we have seen grinding conflicts come to an end before – most recently in Northern Ireland, where Catholics and Protestants finally recognized that an endless cycle of conflict was causing both communities to fall behind a fast-moving world.”

– From President Obama’s speech at the UN General Assembly. September 24.

“Republicans should take a lesson from history, which has shown time and time again that such ideological crusades, when applied to economic policy, can have disastrous consequences. Consider the Irish famine, one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the 19th century, which left roughly 1 million people — or about one-ninth of Ireland’s population — dead and led an even larger number to emigrate.”

– Professor Richard S. Grossman of Wesleyan University and the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University, writing in the Hartford Courant. October 4.

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Céad Mile Fáilte Alison Metcalfe,Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America, talks about her own experiences as a traveler and the joys of drawing visitors to one of the most welcoming places in the world.

It’s hard to say. We always traveled as a family when I was growing up. My mother in particular was a big advocate of travel as a great form of education, so I have always felt that travel was in my DNA. I would like to think that in my 20s I transitioned from being a tourist to become a traveler, with more interest in off the beaten track and local experiences. Some of my best travel experiences have involved meeting and staying with locals in a remote Fijian island and visiting a tree school in Kwazulu Natal.

Today, increasingly I think people are looking for authentic experiences when they travel that leave a lasting impression.

Ireland’s activity in North America, to inspire people to travel to Ireland, can make a real difference to the economic life of small towns and communities throughout the length and breadth of the island is very satisfying.

We are fortunate that Ireland enjoys a very positive brand image in the North America, so to a large extent we are pushing on an “open door” which makes my job that much easier. We are also on track to welcome a record one million Americans in 2013, so it’s very satisfying to see the work undertaken not just by Tourism Ireland but many other stakeholders finally paying off.

What is your favorite place in Ireland?

When did you come to the U.S.?

Well, that’s a difficult question! I have several favorites. We have a home in Helen’s Bay, Co. Down, and I love walking or running along the North Down coastal path through Crawfordsburn to Ballyholme. The fresh air and tranquility is so refreshing after the hustle and bustle of New York. The Causeway coastal route and the Inishowen Peninsula are also favorite spots for hiking and playing some golf.

Other favorites include the Dingle Peninsula and the Western Greenway cycle route in Co. Mayo, running from Westport to Achill Island through some of the beautiful scenery that inspired artist Paul Henry.

I came to the U.S. in mid-2007 to take up the post of Vice President Marketing, U.S.A. with Tourism Ireland based in New York. I moved from Toronto, where I ran Tourism Ireland’s Canadian market office.

When was the first time you were a tourist?

Favorite place outside of Ireland?

I have several. In Europe, some of my favorite spots include Provence for hiking, great food, history and the local artisanal culture. I also have a soft spot for Lisbon, where I worked for a period earlier in my career. Further afield, the Cape Winelands in South Africa and Carmel and Big Sur in California are high on my list of favorite spots.

What’s the best part about leading Tourism Ireland in North America?

Firstly, I have the privilege of working with an extremely professional and experienced team, who are passionate about delivering results for Irish tourism, north and south.

Tourism has been recognized as a key driver of Ireland’s economic recovery. Knowing that the impact of Tourism 32 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

What’s the most challenging aspect of promoting tourism to Ireland in North America?

Creating a greater sense of urgency among potential travelers to visit NOW, rather than sometime in the future. Ireland punches above its weight in so many areas, and this is also true in regard to travel and tourism. Millions of Americans are interested in traveling to Ireland, and our goal is to get it off their “bucket list.” It’s Tourism Ireland’s job, working with our industry partners, to put compelling, relevant and fun-filled vacation experiences in front of our target audience at the right time and in the right places within what is a very competitive marketplace.

How successful was The Gathering 2013?

The Gathering 2013 certainly struck a chord with the almost 40 million Americans of Irish ancestry as well as many more people who feel Irish in spirit. It acted as a catalyst and created a renewed interest to travel with family or friends, to enjoy one of the more than 5,000 events and festivals staged throughout the year. There is no doubt that the promotion of the Gathering

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However, before 2013 is over, I would like thank everyone who organized an event, family gathering or business meeting this year and played their part in making the Gathering such a success.

Looking ahead to 2014, Tourism Ireland will continue to remind people of Ireland’s great cultural heritage, its outstanding natural scenery, vibrant cities, great food and world class golf. A major highlight for 2014 will be showcasing the new Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s first long-distance driving route, stretching 1,600 miles from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in Co. Cork. The new route offers an epic journey along one of the world’s most dramatic coastal landscapes, which will be brought to life through more than 150 discovery points along the way.

For American football fans, the Croke Park Classic will see the University of Central Florida host Penn State University in Dublin for their 2014 season opener on August 30, 2014. It promises to be another great sporting event, and follows the success of the 2012 Notre Dame vs. Navy Emerald Isle Classic.

Ireland will also be easier to get to next year, following recent airline announcements. These include a new year round service from San Francisco to Dublin starting in April, as well as the reinstatement of year round services from Boston and New York to Shannon, all operated by Aer Lingus. United Airlines has also announced plans to add flights to its seasonal Chicago – Shannon service. In addition, both Air Canada Rouge and Aer Lingus will operate new year round flights from Toronto to Dublin starting next spring.

Other new initiatives include campaigns to target younger travelers, as well as encouraging more people of the benefits of traveling to Ireland during the shoulder season, when everything is open, less crowded, great value and the welcome even warmer.

What’s the key to making people feel welcome?

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America.

has made a significant contribution to putting us on track to welcome a record one million U.S. visitors spending close to $1 billion in 2013.

How will Tourism Ireland keep the momentum going?

Since the Gathering was such a great success, we plan to build on its legacy. This will include reminding people that many of the events and festivals that took place this year will continue next year, with many becoming bigger and better. As part of this work, we also intend to stay engaged with the diaspora and key Irish American and Canadian networks, and look at ways to support them in their efforts to influence business for 2014 and beyond.

Greeting people with a smile and making them feel at home and genuinely valued as a visitor is essential. Ireland’s reputation as a destination offering a genuinely warm welcome to visitors, especially those from the United States and Canada, is well known. This year, I think the Gathering showed the power of an invitation from the people of Ireland, not only to the Irish diaspora but to everyone with an interest in Ireland or things Irish to come and visit.

It’s the people that set Ireland apart from other destinations.

They are the touchstone in bringing the many great historic and cultural experiences to life through music, literature and conversation and creating that sense of welcome.

We also have a reputation, as Tourism Ireland’s marketing line “Jump into Ireland” suggests, of inviting people to scratch beneath the surface, to immerse themselves in authentic experiences and join in with the locals. More often than not, it isn’t the check list of attractions and sights that visitors remember first when they return home, it’s the great stories they heard and people they met along the way.

As W.B Yeats wrote, “There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t yet met,” and I think this sums up the Irish welcome and experience for visitors. IA – By Sheila Langan DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 IRISH AMERICA 33

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All Around

Ireland

Over the summer, Michelle Meagher took her first trip to Ireland and captured stunning images of the landscape, towns and attractions as she traveled all around the island.

RIGHT: This picture was taken en route to Belmullet, County Mayo on R313. The rain had just passed and the sun lit up this great open field. Another quick photo-op was in order.

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Wicklow Mountains, County Wicklow.

ABOVE: The Cliffs of Moher, Liscannor, County Clare.

LEFT: In the city of Westport, County Mayo.

This panoramic view of the Wicklow Mountains and lake is my favorite of all the pictures I captured on my very first trip to Ireland over the summer. My boyfriend, Brendan, who acted as my tour guide, pulled over on an almost nonexistent shoulder so I could take a few photographs of one of Ireland’s most breathtaking landscapes. The depth and clarity of this picture really gives you a sense of the mountains’ enormous range, which extends for miles and can be seen fading within the periphery of the photograph. It was truly humbling for me to be in the presence of such vast beauty.

The narrow roadway up to this point was nail-bitingly treacherous, and both road and scenery had my heart rate going – for two different reasons, of course!

The view through the Wicklow Mountains, and this picture in particular, is incomparable to any other place I’ve seen in Europe.

You must be wary you don’t take your eyes off the road for too long to gaze upon these gorgeous green giants lest you plummet down the unforgiving valleys or collide with oncoming traffic. My advice is, better to pull over where you can enjoy this outstanding view and take it all in.

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TOP LEFT: On R313 in County Mayo.

TOP RIGHT: I enjoyed the best pint of Guinness I’ve ever tasted and an impromptu traditional seisiún at Una’s Pub in Faulmore, County Mayo.

ABOVE LEFT: Traveling from Aughavas to Ballinamore, County Leitrim, the town my grandmother emigrated from.

ABOVE RIGHT: The Giant’s Causeway, a World Heritage Site located in Bushmills, County Antrim in Northern Ireland.

LEFT: Me and Brendan at the Giant’s Causeway.

36 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

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“ [My mother] always wanted you to not let your current circumstances limit your potential. You had the potential to do what you aspired, to aim high. You might not get completely there, but you will go a distance.”

PHOTO: KIT DEFEVER

Michael J. Dowling, President and CEO of North Shore–LIJ Health System.

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28th Annual Business 100 Keynote Speaker

A world-class leader who is staying

Ahead of the Game

Michael J. Dowling’s winning spirit, unbreakable determination, and willingness to take risks have propelled him forward and inspired and motivated those around him. By Sheila Langan.

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here’s a story that Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of North Shore-LIJ Health System, sometimes returns to. The eldest of five children growing up in the rural village of Knockaderry in West Limerick, he had to help support his family from an early age. One evening he went to get milk from a local farmer, who, Dowling recalls, always seemed very rich in comparison to his own family. “When I got there, his son was getting ready to go off to college, which was a dream of mine. And the father looks at me and he says, ‘Isn’t it too bad somebody like you will never be able to get to college?’ I walked home that night, and – it’s like it happened yesterday – every step I took, I said, ‘I’m going to college. I’m going to college. I’m going to college.’ I was determined. Negative things can be the greatest positive motivators. Because if you tell me I can’t do something, that’s when I become determined to get it done.”

This no-nonsense determination has been the hallmark of Dowling’s career and personal journey. He grew up in a thatched cottage without indoor plumbing or electricity. His father disabled by severe arthritis and his mother hearing impaired, Dowling assumed the responsibility of supporting his family as young as fifteen years old, traveling to England during the summer to work in a steel mill in Crawley. He was accepted to college – a first for the family – at University College Cork (UCC), but had to find a way to pay tuition and continue to send money home.

Before starting at UCC, in the summer of 1963, he went to the U.S., to New York, on a J–1 visa. At just 17, Dowling committed himself to finding as much work as possible and made the journey every year until graduating. He worked on the docks, in the

engine rooms of the Circle Line tour boats, in construction, as a plumber, cleaning out bars in the early morning hours, as a school custodian.

“You name it, I did it,” he says. “When you’re in a bad situation, you just do what you have to do. I have pay slips for 120-hour-work-weeks. It would have been nice to have a social life, but that wasn’t important. I never thought that any circumstance along that trajectory was in any way bad, because it was still better than what had come before. Every day that I got a paycheck, I was the happiest guy in the world.

And being able to send a check home to my parents, that was the best part of every week.”

The most challenging part was communication.

“I’d write home, and it would take two weeks for the letter to get there. Then my family would write back, which would take another two weeks. So close to a month would go by before I would know that they knew that I was okay,” he remembers. “There was a phone kiosk next to the church in the village near where we lived, but it only worked sporadically. If we wanted to talk on the phone, I would have to write that I would call the village phone at a certain date and time two weeks away. It only worked 40 percent of the time. My brother would communicate what I was saying to my mother, who was deaf, and I would hear her in the background saying ‘What did he say?

Is he all right?’ That was the hardest.”

But Dowling is living proof that hard work pays off. After graduating from UCC in four years (that farmer’s son took six to earn his degree, he mentions with measured glee), he returned to New York and eventually enrolled part time at Fordham University, where he completed his master’s in social policy.

During this time, he met and married his wife, Kathy,

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with whom he has two children, both currently working in health care – Brian is an Imaging Supervisor at one of North Shore–LIJ’s facilities on Long Island, and Elizabeth is a registered nurse working in oncology.

In 1979, Dowling joined Fordham’s faculty as director of the campus in Tarrytown, and then served as a professor of social policy and assistant dean at the Graduate School of Social Services.

When Mario Cuomo was elected Governor of New York in 1983, he asked Dowling to come on board, eventually advancing the Irishman to serve as his deputy secretary and director of health, education and human services. As an immigrant and the son of immigrants, the two often saw eye-to-eye. During his twelve years in Albany, Dowling worked closely with the governor on issues ranging from homelessness and the crack epidemic to Medicare and Medicaid.

When Cuomo’s reign ended in 1995, Dowling was recruited by the insurance giant Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield as a senior vice president, but was lured away a few months later to take the post of SVP, Hospital Services at North Shore–LIJ Health System, then a small group of Long Island hospitals. He was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer in 1997, and was named president and CEO in 2002.

Over his eleven years at the helm,

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Dowling has transformed North Shore–LIJ into a shining example of how health systems can thrive by adapting. With 16 hospitals, 400 ambulatory care facilities and 2,400 full-time physicians in the North Shore–LIJ medical group, it is the nation’s third-largest non-profit secular health care system, and New York state’s largest integrated health care network. It is home to the highly respected Center for Learning and Innovation – the largest corporate university in the health care industry, modeled after GE's Crotonville – as well as the Patient Safety Institute, the biggest patient simulation center in the U.S. In 2011, Dowling also ushered in the Hofstra North Shore–LIJ School of Medicine at Hofstra University, which, as it trains all first-year students as EMTs, is challenging the traditional structure of how medical students learn to be doctors.

Dowling is equally fearless when it comes to shaking up the way the health system is structured, placing a greater emphasis on out-patient care and, just this year, establishing a license for North Shore–LIJ to function as a commercial health insurance provider. Significantly, at a time when many hospitals – especially those in New York – are struggling to stay out of the red, through a strategic series of mergers and acquisitions, groundbreaking initiatives and close attention to management and personnel, North Shore–LIJ has maintained profitability,

with $6.7 billion in annual revenue.

In the world of hospital administration, Dowling is unusual in his hands-on approach: he functions as the CEO of each separate North Shore–LIJ entity and spends every Monday morning meeting the system's new employees, typically 100 per week. With 46,000 employees, North Shore–LIJ is the largest private employer in New York state.

Dowling is also slightly unusual in that he doesn’t come from a medical or business background. But one gets the sense that part of what makes him such an effective, far-seeing leader is his diverse array of life experiences. He can quite realistically imagine the world-view of a custodian in one of his hospitals just as easily as he can inhabit the perspective of one of the professors at the medical school. He can guess how both a member of the state government and an insurance executive will respond to one of the hospital system’s new projects. He can also see things through the eyes of one of their 4 million patients, because he is one of them. Just a week before Irish America met with Dowling at North Shore–LIJ’s Manhattan offices, he had undergone back surgery to correct ongoing damage from his days as a hurler for University College Cork.

He was also privileged to play for the Limerick team that won the National League Championship. (That same team won the All Ireland in 1971, while

“From a professional point of view Dowling is at the absolute peak of American medicine, having developed a network of 16 hospitals and a medical school that garners national and international recognition. On a personal level, I think his story of coming from rural Ireland and working on the docks and the Circle Line to pay his way through school represents the story [of the achievements] of Irish immigrants over the generations.”

– Dr. Kevin Cahill, President Emeritus of the American Irish Historical Society, and a noted physician and expert on tropical diseases.

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Photos from left: Michael Dowling with Governor Mario Cuomo when he served as state director of Health, Education and Human Services. With his mother. The Limerick championship hurling team,1971. Dowling is pictured front row, 3rd from left. Receiving the Gold Medal from the American Irish Historical Society in 2011.

Dowling was working over here, something he seems a tad wistful about to this day.)

“But this is a great example of what we’re trying to achieve!” he said, energetically tapping the conference room table and raising his still distinctly Limerick voice. “The back surgeon I go to, he will do everything possible to keep you from having surgery. He’ll tell you up front, ‘In 80-90 percent of cases, there is no need for back surgery, so we’re not going there unless there’s no other alternative.’ That was my case this year, but for the last 20 years, I didn’t have surgery.

“The thing is,” he added, broadening, as he often does, his use of “I” to mean North Shore–LIJ in the larger sense, “the way insurance payments typically work now, I make a lot of money to do surgery.

But if I treat you with massage therapy or rehab, I don’t make any money off of you.

So incentives are misaligned.”

In many respects, this is the central dilemma of the health care industry today: what’s best for patients isn’t always what makes the most money. And health care is, at the end of the day, a business. With his fearless, entrepreneurial approach, Dowling navigates this murky territory with apparent ease and has been lauded by the industry and beyond for doing so. This year, he was ranked 25th in Modern Healthcare magazine’s annual listing of the Top 100 Healthcare Leaders, up 13 slots from the previous year. He was the recipient of the 2012 B’nai B’rith National Healthcare Award, the 2011 Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award

from the National Center for Healthcare Leadership, and the American Irish Historical Society’s Gold Medal. He is also a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Over the course of the Business 100 keynote interview, Dowling discussed his pioneering vision for North Shore–LIJ as it modernizes practices and realigns incentives, his hands-on approach to leadership, and the inspiring lessons of his determined rise.

Where did the desire for education come from?

Even though we didn’t have much, my mother always made books available. I grew up reading Shakespeare, and the American author Zane Grey who I loved. I was fascinated by the way he was able to write so that you could visualize what the American West looked like, even if you’d never been there. Later on, when I started to do public speaking, I always tried to present something [in a way that] the audience could see it, so you’re telling a story.

I realized very, very young that there wasn’t much available in Ireland for me. I could milk cows, which I did; I could kill pigs, which I did; and there wasn’t much else. So if I wanted to get ahead I had to

move on. My father never really understood it, but my mother did. She was a very strong model. She was big into education even though she had no education herself. She always wanted you to not let your current circumstances limit your potential. You had the potential to do what you aspired, to aim high. You might not get completely there, but you will go a distance. I still talk to people about that.

She was deaf, though in her mind she had no disability – she probably knew what was going on a hell of a lot more than most people. She still knew how to speak because she lost her hearing at the age of 6 or 7 – I’ve investigated this, and I believe that it was from a cold medication they gave her, which when taken in the wrong dosage could cause hearing loss. I believe [her deafness] is why she had such a phenomenal interest in reading. The book became her partner – she didn’t have to listen to it, she could read it.

So in part, the disability in one respect created a wonderful interest in another, which I then benefited from.

How has the Affordable Care Act impacted on what you do?

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ACA came out of the lessons learned from many of the health care organizations doing good things. Overall, I’ve tried to not get consumed by the ACA and to move forward the way I think we should. It’s an exciting time to be in health care. We can do a much better job and we should be promoting transparency, we should be figuring out how to get the costs down and continually enhance the quality. You have to be leading these days; you have to be ahead of the game. I don’t sit there waiting for what’s going to happen. I try to challenge the status quo and figure out how we can help create the future.

Is that why you decided that North Shore–LIJ should also become an insurance provider?

This is a major innovative step for the organization. We want to be in the business of providing health as well as treating illness. The present method of payment – fee-for-service – pays only for illness treatment. Being an insurer as well as the provider allows us to do both. It allows us to properly align incentives so we can better coordinate care, enhance quality and get better results.

There is no perfect answer – it’s a continuous process of improvement. But change is necessary and overdue and we want to be a leader.

There is another issue that is of utmost importance – individuals need to have more skin in the game. A significant portion of major illness (some argue 70%) is self created. We don’t exercise, we smoke, we drink, we take drugs, we sit on the couch, we are lethargic. Behavior and lifestyle changes are essential if we are to truly reform health care. Just think of obesity and all its attendant consequences – which the U.S. has in abundance.

The question, of course, is how to appropriately address these issues. If you come to one of our facilities and you’re

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“Michael is a charismatic and hardworking leader and for a man of so many achievements he is reassuringly modest – a wise trait in an Irishman! I’m glad to say that an impish sense of humor lurks behind the corporate veneer! Working with him as our Chairman over the years has been an honor.”

– Tony Condon, Director of Development, UCD College of Business & Law, UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business.

sick, you have no problem being treated and told what to do. But if you’re not ill, and I know you’re going to get ill, and I tell you to change [your lifestyle], you’re going to say something like, “It’s none of your business. I’ll eat what I want to eat, I have freedom.”

Are hospitals becoming less central to how people are treated?

Ten years ago, a lot of things had to be done in a hospital, but with advancements in science and technology, that isn’t the case anymore. In our health system, with just a few exceptions, if you need basic surgery you go to an outpatient facility. I had knee surgery recently. Three years ago I would have been in hospital for a few days. Instead, I went to an ambulatory site at 6:30 a.m., had the surgery at 7:30 a.m., and I was home in my house at 12 noon.

We have 16 hospitals but we also have 400 ambulatory/outpatient locations and extensive home care programs. Most care can now be provided outside the hospitals with better outcomes and fewer complications.

It isn’t overly complicated when you break it down. The consumers – and I like to talk about health care as being in the consumer business because it’s what consumers want that matters – not just what providers want to deliver. They want good quality, they want convenience, they want good service and they want to be treated by a kind, confident Michael with Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE

and competent staff. So we are rethinking the whole way we do business. And if we do it right everybody will benefit.

When did you first become interested in health care?

It began when I was young, because of the circumstances with my family. It really blossomed when I had the privilege of working for Governor Mario Cuomo. As Director of Health and Human Services, I got immersed in both the public policy and the operational aspects of health care.

It was a transformative time for me. As a result, I aspired to leading a health care organization, and fortunately, I got the opportunity.

I owe a lot to the many people who took a risk and showed confidence in me.

How do you find that person who’s a good hire?

You are looking for people with integrity, with passion, with commitment and with a positive can-do attitude. You also want people who are team-oriented and have good interrelationship skills.

All potential hires go through a thorough screening and prior to starting employment, they undergo a comprehensive orientation program. In a big system like ours, we recruit many different kinds of people – nurses and physicians, technicians and statisticians; HR and financial people, carpenters, laundry and construction workers. It’s a multi-faceted organization with multiple diverse businesses.

We also have a sophisticated high potential training program. Each year we identify between 50-60 people who we believe, have the potential to take on leadership responsibilities and we put them through an intense training program. As a result, the majority of our leadership comes from within. We do however, go outside and recruit from other industries.

What drew you to the field of social policy when you were at Fordham?

[Chuckles] That’s a good question.

Honestly, I didn’t know much else. The

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only person I ever knew who had a college degree was a teacher. So I thought that was all you could do. I had no concept that you could become a doctor or a lawyer. When I started at UCC, we were signing up for courses, and I didn’t know where to go. So someone said, “What are you doing?” and I said, “I want to be a teacher.” They told me which building to go to. So I go over and stand in the line, and after about 10 minutes I look up and I see a sign that says “Liberal Arts,” and I’m thinking “Liberal Arts? What is that?

I can’t draw.” I had no idea.

And that’s how I got into the social sciences area. Also, because of my family background, it interested me. I was so happy to be in college, it was the greatest thing ever, but, looking back, I didn’t have a clue. No one ever sat me down and said, by the way, you can do this or that; you have options. Then I didn’t want to change, because back in Ireland in those days if you changed [degree tracks] you had to start all over again. Even today it’s like that in Ireland. I think it is very bad that a 17 year-old has to pick his specialty and stick with it. It’s changed a bit, but the concept is the same. No 17-year-old knows what they want to do. You won’t even know when you’re 60, because life is a continuing search for what you want to do and be.

Are you optimistic about Ireland in the future?

I think Ireland will be fine. It’ll just take five to ten years. In many ways it’s a bad thing that happened, but in other ways it’s not that bad. It’s always good to get slapped down once or twice so that you don’t get caught up in your own press releases and you realize, “Yeah, we’ve been running on froth,” which is what they were doing. The basic core has to be

“In my twelve years as governor I worked with some of the brightest and most devoted people, but none better than Mike Dowling. His work for me was masterful and his work in health care since then has been even better.”

– Hon. Mario Cuomo.

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strong. But given what Ireland has had to deal with over the centuries and over the decades, this is minor stuff. They’re handling it very well. They’re accepting it and dealing with it, so I think Ireland will be fine. It benefits from having a phenomenally educated work force, and that’s been the key to its success from day one.

Do you get back home much?

Yes, at least twice a year. Since my parents are gone, most of it is now business.

I’m on the Prime Minister’s committee for healthcare, and I’m chairman of the American board of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. All of my siblings are still there, so we get together when I go back. And we check in with each other every Sunday, even if it’s just to say that everything’s fine.

Every year I bring about 20 students over from Ireland for work or study experience. This year I had seven business students, a number of nurses, and some speech and hearing students from Limerick. I started this years ago, and now my staff do it automatically, so sometimes I don’t even know how many people we have until I meet them for breakfast.

The speech and hearing [component] started eight or nine years ago. There were no programs in Limerick for kids who had disabilities, especially speech therapy, which my nephew needed. Then I met an American speech therapy student who wanted to do an internship in Ireland and I got to thinking, is there any sort of program for this in Ireland? The University of Limerick had started a program but didn’t have any way to train students in a real life environment, so I agreed to have a number of kids come over for the summer.

We have one of the largest speech and hearing centers on the East Coast, so I started bringing speech and hearing students over. I put them up, I paid them, and they spent two months here and then went back. That’s been going on now for ten years, and has evolved into business students and nursing students.

Is it still possible for immigrants to attain the American dream?

Absolutely – it’s happening each and every day. It’s what makes the U.S. special. Immigration has been key to the American success story and that will continue. I am always happy when a portion of our hires are new immigrants – they work hard, they strive, they see opportunity where others see barriers.

They haven’t yet developed that sense of

“There is no more challenging field in today’s world than the health care field. Mike Dowling not only navigates through all of its complexities, he does it with a smile and makes it look easy! He truly is one of Ireland’s best!”

–Tom Moran, President, Chairman and CEO of Mutual of America.

entitlement, an evolving culture that we, as a society, have to curtail. There is no substitute for hard work, commitment and personal achievement – and no greater satisfaction.

Would you go back into government or politics?

I don’t get involved that much at the moment, I’m a little frustrated with politics these days. Now compromise is a bad word, negotiation is a bad word. It’s all “I have my opinion and I’m going to stick to it no matter what, though it means the country can go to hell in a hand basket.” If you’re going to get anything done you have to sit down across the table and negotiate. You have to give something to get something. It’s bad for the U.S. internally, and it makes us look terrible, because the one thing the U.S. always had was its reputation of being a place where things got done. Now if we go overseas and say, “Fix that!” they can say, “Hey! You can’t even get a budget passed.”

Practical as your outlook is, it’s also very optimistic.

Well, you have to be perpetually optimistic. And I always tell employees this – don’t ever say you can’t do something.

Everything is possible. We have 100 – 150 new employees every Monday, and I always meet with them. There are usually a lot of young people in the room, and one of the messages is to encourage them that no matter where they are at the moment, no matter what their current situation is, they can end up doing what I’m doing.

Because I didn’t expect to be standing in front of them as the CEO of an organization, so one of them can do that too. You just have to aim high, and don’t ever say IA you can’t do something.

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IRISH AMERICA

BUSINESS

100 The Business 100 celebrates the phenomenal success of the Irish in corporate America. The executives profiled in the following pages represent some of the most influential and innovative corporations in the world, in sectors ranging from technology to film, from social media to insurance, from advertising to automobiles.

From those who were born in Ireland to those who feel strongly connected to an ancestor who immigrated generations ago, all of the honorees hold their Irish heritage in the highest regard. Their achievements are a testament to the incredible scope, power and accomplishments of the Irish diaspora.

Irish America is proud to recognize this remarkable group of men and women. Congratulations to all of the honorees.

“My Irish heritage always brings up memories of my big, supportive, loving family. Without the support of my entire family, I would not be able to chase my dreams and be where I am today.”

– Katie Finnegan, Hukkster

Beir Bua! “With heritage of three separate Irish families who immigrated to the Americas in the 19th century, I’ve always felt a close connection to my adventurous, resilient ancestors.

I immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica in 1995, and since then have maintained the same values of personal drive, perseverance, exploration, and embracing diversity that I feel are at the core of the Irish people.” – Andrew McDermott, Spruce Media, Inc. 44 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

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“Having just returned from a family visit to Ireland, my appreciation for my Irish heritage is fresh and meaningful.

Just standing on the very same ground that my ancestors stood upon instills pride and a great sense of history. I realize how much the Irish have done; the U.S. wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for Ireland, and Ireland wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for the U.S. It’s a very symbiotic relationship.”

– Brooke Denihan Barrett, Denihan Hotel Group

“When a good leader has an idea that they believe will disrupt the current market, they take on all responsibility to make sure their vision comes to life. Strong leaders have to be comfortable being uncomfortable and challenge others as well as challenging themselves.”

– Neil Sweeney, JUICE Mobile

“A good leader is calm in the face of adversity. Tough, but understanding and fair.

Follows through.

A good listener. I never learned anything I didn’t already know by opening my mouth.”

– Patrick O’Keefe, O’Keefe

“As a proud Irishman who has lived and worked in Europe, Africa, Canada and the U.S., it means a lot to me to be Irish.”

– Ruairi Twomey, Guinness

Most Mentioned Colleges and Universities: Harvard • University College Dublin • Notre Dame MIT • Northwestern Most Popular Counties of Origin: Cork • Mayo • Kerry Dublin • Galway • Sligo Ancestral Links: 1st Generation 5th Generation or more

3rd Generation

27%

5%

2nd Generation

20%

13% 4th Generation

11%

Irish Born

24%

DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 IRISH AMERICA 45

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BUSINESS 100

PAUL ADAMS

STEVE CAHILLANE

CHARLES P. CAREY

Intercom

Coca-Cola

Henning & Carey Trading Co.

Paul Adams is the head of Product Design at Intercom. He previously worked as global head of Brand Design at Facebook, and prior to joining Facebook had led social research at Google, playing a major role in building Google+. Paul’s other past experiences include working as a user experience consultant at Flow, leading research and design projects for clients including the BBC, The Guardian, Vodafone, and the UK Government. Before Flow, he worked as an industrial designer at Dyson, and also worked designing car interiors at Faurecia.

Paul’s work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, AdWeek and other leading publications. In 2011, Fortune magazine described Paul as “one of Silicon Valley’s most wanted,” and his presentation on the next evolution of social networks, “The Real Life Social Network,” is one of the most viewed and downloaded presentations ever published on the web. He currently writes for the popular blog ThinkOutsideIn.com.

Paul holds a Master of Science degree in interactive media and a Bachelor of Design in industrial design from the University of Limerick. He was born in Sligo and grew up in Swords, Co. Dublin.

Steve Cahillane is president of Coca-Cola Americas, which consists of the company’s North America and Latin America operations. Before assuming this role, Steve served as president and CEO of Coca-Cola Refreshments.

Steve began his career as a sales representative for E&J Gallo Winery. In 1995, he founded State Street Brewing Co., which he sold in 1997, and joined Coors Distribution Company as VP and general manager. He joined InBev in 1999, serving as VP of U.S. Sales until 2001, when he was promoted to CEO of Labatt USA. From 2003 to 2005, he served as CEO of Interbrew UK and Ireland. He then became COO for InBev, and in 2007 was appointed president of the Europe Group for Coca-Cola Enterprises. In 2008, he was named president of CCE’s North American Business Unit.

One of four children of a New York firefighter with roots in Co. Kerry and a mother born and raised in Donegal, Steve holds a BA in political science from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard. He and his wife, Tracy, reside in Atlanta with their four children.

Charles P. Carey is a partner in the firm Henning & Carey Trading Company. He is on the board of directors at CME Group, Inc., Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc., and BM&FBovespa SA. Previously, Charles served as vice chairman of the CME Group from 2007 to 2010. He served as chairman of the CBOT from 2003 to 2007; as vice chairman from 2000 to 2002, and first vice chairman from 1993 to 1994. He also served as a member of the CBOT’s board of directors from 1990 to 1992 and again from 1997 to 1999. In 2007, he delivered the Keynote Address at Irish America’s Wall Street 50 dinner.

Charles began his trading career in 1976 at the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange prior to becoming a CBOT member in 1978. He serves on numerous management committees and is currently a member of the CME Group’s Executive and Strategic Steering Committees.

A lifelong resident of Chicago, he received his BA in business administration from Western Illinois University. His great-grandfather was born in Ireland.

WILLIAM M. CASEY

KIERAN CLAFFEY

THOMAS W. CODD

Ernst & Young

PwC

PwC

William M. Casey is the deputy vice chair for Ernst & Young’s Americas Transaction Advisory Services business. Bill joined the firm in 1983 and has been a partner for over 17 years.

Fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese, he worked on transactions in Latin America for more than a decade and spent four years as a partner in Ernst & Young’s Sao Paulo office.

Throughout his career, Bill has worked with strategic and private equity buyers in payment and transaction processing, electronic funds transfer and outsourcing. His work has extended to the beverage, automotive, and telecommunications industries. A Chicago native, Bill graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS in accountancy, and went on to earn an MBA from DePaul University. His mother is a native of Crossmolina and his father is from Castlebar, both in County Mayo. He and wife, Amy, have two daughters, Sarah and Hannah. He says, “the Chicago Irish community has given me an appreciation of the intelligence, creativity and passion of the Irish people and their tremendous achievements.”

Kieran Claffey is a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. He has over 30 years of diversified experience serving multinational clients and dealing with litigation and regulatory related issues. In 2013 he was elected to the global board of PwC’s business trust where he serves as chairman. He also represents PwC on the Technical Standards Committee of the American Institute of CPAs. Kieran was a founding member and director of the Ireland Chamber of Commerce in the U.S. and a director of the European-American Chamber of Commerce. He is the national treasurer, executive committee member and board member of the Ireland-U.S. Council for Commerce & Industry. He is chairman of the finance committee, member of the executive committee and on the board of trustees of The Gateway Schools, and was a director of Legal Information for Families Today.

Born in Dublin, he is a graduate of UCD and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. Kieran, who has won several all Ireland dancing medals, lives in Manhattan with his wife, Michelle, and sons Ryan, CJ and Steven.

Thomas W. Codd is PwC’s North Texas managing partner. He joined PwC in 1982 and has spent his entire career serving manufacturing and distribution companies, ranging from private companies to multinational corporations.

Tom is a director of The American Ireland Fund, a member of the North American Advisory Board of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and a member of the New York City Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. He earned a BSc in management from Purdue University. He also serves on many civic boards in Dallas, including The Catholic Foundation, World Affairs Council of Dallas-Ft. Worth, Dallas Theater Center, University of Dallas and Circle 10 Council/Boy Scouts of America.

Tom, who is a second-generation Irish American – his paternal grandparents were born in counties Wexford and Sligo – says, “I attribute my fundamental values of work ethic, loyalty, fortitude, charity, humor, and humility in large part to my ancestry.” He and his wife, Shelly, live in Dallas, Texas with their four children: Tommy, Kevin, Mike and Kaitlin.

46 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Insight.

Innovation.

Performance.

With over 10,300 people based in 38 countries, we’re an Irish company that is one of the world leaders in clinical research.

As a trusted partner of choice for the global bio-pharmaceutical and medical device industry, we help our clients bring new and potentially life-saving drugs to market faster. info@iconplc.com ICONplc.com

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BUSINESS 100

DONALD F. COLLERAN

MEGAN COLLIGAN

DEIRDRE CONNELLY

Federal Express

Paramount Pictures

GlaxoSmithKline

Since 2006, Don Colleran has been executive vice president of Global Sales & Solutions for FedEx Services, leading a global organization of more than 8,000.

Don started with FedEx in 1989. In 1992, he moved to Tokyo and began a 12-year career in international sales and operations management. In 1997 he was named vice president, Sales, for the Asia Pacific region. In 2000, he was promoted to president, FedEx Canada. Three years later he was named senior vice president, International Sales and moved to Memphis, Tennessee.

A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Don is a third-generation Irish American with roots in Galway and Cork. He earned a BS in business administration from the University of New Hampshire. Don is a member of the board of trustees for the Indy Festival Foundation children’s charities, a member of the American Chamber of Commerce, the US-ASEAN Business Council, and member of the University of Tennessee Health Service Center Advisory Board. He also serves on the board of the InMotion Orthopaedic Research Center.

Megan Colligan is president of Domestic Marketing and Distribution for Paramount Pictures, a position she has held since 2011.

Megan has led the marketing and distribution for many of Paramount’s recent hits, including World War Z, Paranormal Activity, Star Trek Into Darkness, and GI Joe: Retaliation. She is currently at work on Martin Scorsese’s upcoming The Wolf of Wall Street and the upcoming sequel to Anchorman, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

Before joining Paramount, Megan was VP at Fox Searchlight. She began her career as a publicist at Miramax Films, served as publicity director for Brill Media Holdings and Media Central, and then joined Fenton Communications.

Megan attended Harvard University, where she received a BA in American history and African American studies. She and her husband, Mark Roybal, have three sons, Lukas, Simon and Jesse. A third-generation Irish American, Megan was born in Mineola, NY., to James and Margaret, whose roots go back to Counties Cork and Sligo, respectively. Megan “loves being Irish and is very proud of her Irish heritage.”

Deirdre Connelly is president, North America Pharmaceuticals for GlaxoSmithKline. She is a member of the global Corporate Executive Team and co-chairs, along with the chairman, Research and Development, the Portfolio Management Board. Prior to joining GSK, Deirdre served as president of U.S. operations at Eli Lilly and Company.

Deirdre has been consistently recognized by Fortune as one of the 50 most powerful women in business. In 2008, she was appointed to the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. In 2010, she was named Woman of the Year by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association.

Deirdre was born in San Juan to an Irish father and a Puerto Rican mother. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and marketing from Lycoming College in Pennsylvania in 1983.

In 2000, she graduated from Harvard University’s Advanced Management Program.

KEVIN CONROY

CATHY COUGHLIN

DENNIS CROWLEY

Univision Communications, Inc.

AT&T

Foursquare

Kevin Conroy is president of Digital and Enterprise development at Univision, the leading media company serving Hispanic America. He is responsible for the company’s digital business, which comprises a digital network of online and mobile apps and products including Univision.com, UVideos and Uforia.

Before joining Univision, Kevin was EVP of global products and marketing for AOL. He holds a BA from Bowdoin College and previously worked as a VP of marketing for CBS/Fox Video and president of new technology at BMG Entertainment. He was recognized by Broadcasting & Cable as a “Digital All Star” and in Digital Media Wire’s “25 Executives to Watch.” He also serves on the boards of Interactive Advertising Bureau, Online Publisher’s Association, Newell Rubbermaid, and RecycleBank.

Kevin is third-generation Irish-American. Both of his great-grandmothers were born in Ireland; in Co. Tyrone and Co. Cavan. He lives in Washington D.C. with his wife, Janet, and their three children.

He believes a good leader has “integrity, the ability to communicate clearly, demonstrates sincere commitment, and motivates and inspires.”

As senior executive vice president and global marketing officer, Cathy Coughlin oversees AT&T brand strategy, advertising, corporate communications, events and sponsorships worldwide.

Cathy began her communications career in 1979 when she joined Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in her hometown of St. Louis. During her 34-year career, she has held officer roles in sales, marketing, operations and advertising for AT&T. Prior to her current role, Cathy was president and chief executive officer of AT&T Midwest.

Throughout her career, Cathy has been committed to serving the community. She serves on the board of directors of several organizations, including the Girl Scouts of the USA and Northwestern University. She also leads AT&T’s “It Can Wait” effort to end texting while driving. Additionally, she is a strong advocate for attracting more women to pursue careers and leadership roles in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Cathy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Northwestern University and a Master of Science degree in finance from St. Louis University.

Dennis Crowley is the co-founder of Foursquare, a service that mixes social, locative and gaming elements to encourage people to explore the cities in which they live. Previously, Dennis founded dodgeball.com, one of the first mobile social services in the U.S., which was acquired by Google in 2005.

In 2005 Dennis was named one of the “Top 35 Innovators Under 35” by MIT’s Technology Review. In 2009 he won the “Fast Money” bonus round on the TV game show Family Feud, and he has been named one of Fortune Magazine’s “Forty under Forty” in 2010 and 2011.

His work has featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, Time, Newsweek, MTV, Slashdot and NBC. Dennis is currently an adjunct professor at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP).

A fourth-generation Irish American, Dennis holds a master’s degree from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and a bachelor’s degree from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. His great-great-grandparents emigrated from Sneem, County Kerry.

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MARTY DALY

SHANNON DEEGAN

A. JAMES DEHAYES

CBS TV Network

Google

DeHayes Consulting Group

Marty Daly is the senior vice president & director of News & Late Night Sales for the CBS TV Network. He started at CBS as a traffic clerk in 1974 and worked his way up to his present position in the Sales Department. He now manages all the marketing and sales for CBS This Morning, The Evening News with Scott Pelley, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Marty, whose parents, Christine and Patrick Daly, hail from Co. Kerry, went to All Hallows High School in the Bronx, NY and graduated from Iona College. He says, “My parents taught us the value of hard work and the importance of education. The example they set by putting their children’s education in front of any personal comforts for them is the reason we were able to achieve the American dream!”

In 2011, Marty was inducted into the All Hallows HS Hall of Fame, where he now serves as chairman of their board of directors. He and his wife, Kathleen, whose parents were born in Co. Cork, have three grown children: Laura, Ryan and Colin Daly.

Shannon is the director of Global Security Operations at Google. He joined Google in 2007 and for his first five years was director of People Operations, where he led a number of teams, including M&A, served as the lead business partner to Google’s Global Business organization, and as head of both the central staffing organization and global Talent and Outreach Programs, including Diversity. Prior to joining Google he worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. in NY, and in public service in Canada, where he was an advisor to the Prime Minister. He was also a professional hockey player with the Los Angeles Kings organization.

Shannon has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Vermont, an MPhil degree in international studies from Trinity College, Dublin, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

A native of Verdun, Quebec, Shannon lives in San Jose, California with his wife, Patti, and their three children, twins Conal and Orla, and Bridget.

In the late 1840’s Shannon’s ancestors sailed to Canada and joined Montreal’s growing Irish community in Pointe St. Charles.

A. James DeHayes is an authority on strategy development and implementation in marketing, distribution, and M&A support for the financial services industry.

Prior to founding DeHayes Consulting Group, James served as CMO for a major diversified financial services company. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, a graduate of Leadership in Professional Services, a chartered life underwriter and chartered financial consultant from the American College, and holds an MBA from Pepperdine University.

James is active in numerous organizations, including a professional member of the World Future Society, an associate member of the New York Society of Security Analysts, various leadership roles with the Harvard Business School Alumni Association of Northern California, and a member of the North American Advisory Board for the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in Dublin.

A second-generation Irish American whose mother’s family has roots in Belfast, James is married with six children.

BROOKE DENIHAN BARRETT

JOHN DONAHOE

LISA DONOHUE

Denihan Hospitality Group

eBay Inc.

Starcom USA

Brooke Denihan Barrett is the co-CEO of Denihan Hospitality Group, a billion dollar independent owner and operator of boutique hotels in the U.S. Under Barrett’s leadership the company has overseen over $500 million in redevelopment projects in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Miami that resulted in Inc. magazine naming the group as one of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in America.

Born in Queens, NY, Brooke is a second generation Irish American. Her father’s family are from Milford, Co. Cork. She attended Salve Regina University, Rhode Island. She received the 2012 Stevie Award for Woman Executive of the Year, and was recently named a ‘Legend’ among influential women by Real Estate Forum.

On the importance of her Irish heritage, Brooke says: “The U.S wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for Ireland, and Ireland wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for the U.S. It’s a very symbiotic relationship.” She lives in New York with her husband, John, and two children, John and Michelle.

John Donahoe is president and CEO of eBay Inc, which includes eBay, PayPal, GSI Commerce and X.commerce, the company’s platform division.

As CEO, he heads a global e-commerce and payments leader with revenues of $14.1 billion in 2012 and hundreds of millions of users around the world.

John, who serves on the boards of directors for eBay Inc. and Intel Corp., joined eBay in March 2005 as president of eBay Marketplaces. In that position, he focused on expanding the core business and also oversaw a number of strategic acquisitions, including Shopping.com and StubHub. Prior to eBay, John spent more than 20 years at Bain & Company, a worldwide consulting firm based in Boston. He received a BA in economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

A fifth-generation Irish American, John has roots in County Tipperary. He and his wife, Eileen Chamberlain, have four children.

As CEO of Starcom USA, Lisa Donohue empowers her company to exceed challenges on behalf of some of the country’s mightiest marketers, including Allstate, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bank of America, Burger King, Kellogg, Microsoft, P&G, Samsung and more.

Since becoming CEO in 2009, Lisa has spurred creative transformation, establishing Starcom as MEDIA’s 2011 Creative Media Agency of the Year, and winning more than 100 honors for clients in the past two years. She is a member of Starcom MediaVest Group’s Global Executive Management Group, a trustee of Milton Academy in MA, and serves on the Advertising Women of New York board of directors. Lisa was the Chicago Advertising Federation’s Advertising Woman of the Year in 2011, and Adweek’s 2011 Executive Media All-Star. In 2006, Advertising Age recognized her as a Woman to Watch. She also has two Cannes Media Lion victories (2001) for work on Nintendo.

Lisa is a third-generation Irish American on her father’s side and fourth-generation on her mother’s.

Both families are from Cork.

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JOHN DONOVAN

PAT DOOLEY

JOHN Q. DOYLE

AT&T

Dan Dooley Rent A Car

AIG

John Donovan is senior executive vice president of AT&T Technology and Network Operations, responsible for AT&T’s technology and global network, including the nation’s fastest and 4G LTE network.

He first joined AT&T as chief technology officer in 2007, having begun his career at Deloitte Consulting, where he advanced to partner. He moved on to become chairman and CEO of inCode Telecom Group Inc., and also worked at VeriSign Inc., where he was executive vice president of product, sales, marketing and operations.

John graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a BSEE degree and earned an MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota. He is the author of two books, The Value of Enterprise and Value of Creating Growth. He and his wife, Judy, have three children – Shaina, Rory and Julia.

A third-generation Irish American, John says, “St. Patrick’s Day was one of the most important celebrations in my home. My dad was so proud of his heritage.”

Pat Dooley joined the family car business in 1972 at the age of 18 and is now the director and CEO of the Limerick-based Dan Dooley Rent A Car, which operates a fleet of more than 2,000 cars and is one of the top 1,000 companies in Ireland.

The company also has an office in New Jersey.

When Pat joined the company, tourism was just beginning to boom in Ireland and he foresaw a need for a national rental car market and developed the family car business into Dan Dooley Rent A Car. The company grew throughout the 1980s and now operates at more than $25 million per year and employs over 100 full-time staff.

Pat has served on the board of the European Regional Development Fund, which oversaw the distribution of $150 million EU funds for marketing Ireland, the Foundation Board at the University of Limerick, and Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, a leading teacher training school. Pat lives in Knocklong, Co. Limerick with his wife Teresa and his three children, Gina, Mark, and Aoife. His parents still work daily at the family company.

John Q. Doyle is CEO of Global Commercial Insurance for AIG’s global property casualty business. He is responsible for the commercial property casualty businesses worldwide, which includes the company’s property, casualty, financial and specialty lines products and services. He is also a member of the AIG Executive Group.

John had previously served as president and CEO of Chartis U.S., responsible for the company’s property and casualty businesses in the U.S. and Canada.

A division of AIG, Chartis was rebranded to AIG in November 2012. John joined National Union, an AIG company, in 1986 and was elected AIG senior vice president in 2006. A fourth-generation Irish American, John acknowledges that his Irish heritage “shaped much of [his] growth and development and instilled in [him] a strong work ethic.”

John is a graduate of the University at Buffalo. He is a board member of the New York Police and Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund and is also a trustee of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund. In 2012 he was a co-honoree of the UJA-Federation of New York Annual Charitable Gala. He lives in New York with his wife, Katherine, and their three children.

JOHN E. DREW

JOHN M. DUFFEY

JOHN DUFFY

The Drew Company

Six Flags Entertainment Corp.

3Cinteractive

As founder and president of The Drew Company, a Boston-based real estate management and development company, and chairman of Trade Center Management Associates, John Drew has been instrumental in revitalizing Boston’s Seaport District. He is also chairman of Seaport Companies, a developer and partner of the World Trade Center Boston and the Seaport Hotel. In addition to recently beginning work on the World Trade Center, Dublin, John is developing a 236unit luxury apartment building called Waterside Place that is on track to open January 1, 2014.

A second-generation Irish American and Boston native, John is a graduate of Stonehill College and Boston University and was recently recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Boston Jaycees, and an honorary doctorate from Newbury College. He is a member of the American Ireland Fund, serves on the boards of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and Stonehill College, and is chairman of the boards of Cathedral High School in Boston and the Boston Municipal Research Bureau. He and his wife, Kathleen, have four children.

John Duffey is the chief financial officer of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, responsible for the finance and information technology functions of the company, which is the largest regional theme park operator in the world.

Prior to joining Six Flags, John served as executive vice president and chief integration officer of Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, and was responsible for leading the integration of Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics and Dade Behring. Prior to Dade Behring’s acquisition by Siemens AG, John served as the EVP and CFO of Dade Behring.

John holds a BA in accounting from Michigan State University. A father of three, he said of his third-generation Derry and Donegal roots, “The Irish have tremendous pride which is passed down from generation to generation, regardless of where they live. Family is extremely important and growing up in an Irish Catholic family with five siblings and 31 cousins taught me values I will use and cherish throughout my life. I am proud of my Irish heritage and when my children are asked of their nationality, they always have the same answer, ‘Irish.’”

John Duffy is CEO and founder of 3Cinteractive, an enterprise software company specializing in mobile consumer engagement.

With 25 years of experience in communications and payment processing, John has helped build several successful companies. 3Cinteractive, which he founded in 2005, ranked No. 1 on Forbes’ 2013 list of “America’s Most Promising Companies.” In 2012, he received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award in Florida, and the Sun Sentinel’s Excalibur Award. He serves on the boards of the Dan Marino Foundation and the FAU Foundation.

A second-generation Irish American, with family from Carrigart, Co. Donegal on his father’s side, John graduated from Ohio University with a degree in business administration. He made his first trip to Ireland as a teenager, and says that it made him understand “what it mean[s] to be Irish. Ingrained in the culture and etched on the faces of the people, I saw the characteristics I admired most in my father – loyalty and hard work.” He and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Emily and Annie.

52 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

©2013 Viacom Inc. All rights reserved.

Visionary

Michael, your inspirational leadership and innovative ideas have changed the face of healing. Thank you for all you have done, and congratulations on this well-deserved honor.

Philippe Dauman & Tom Dooley

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MICHAEL DUFFY

TERRENCE A. DUFFY

PAUL DWYER

Cardinal Health

CME Group Inc.

Fidelity Investments

Mike Duffy is president of Medical Consumables for Cardinal Health, having previously served as executive vice president of Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain for the company. Prior to Cardinal Health, Duffy served as vice president, Global Value Chain at The Gillette Co. Mike is president of the Corporate Advisory Council at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business Master of Supply Chain Management Program and a former board member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. He earned both his bachelor’s degree (operations research) and master’s degree (transportation) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A fourth-generation Irish American with roots in Dublin on both sides of the family, and ancestors from Kilkenny on his mother’s side, he says, “my family is from Boston where the Irish are still very active. I am proud to be a descendant of the Irish community that both built the city infrastructure and shaped its local culture. It is that work ethic and sense of purpose that I carry with me every day.”

Terrence A. Duffy has been executive chairman of CME Group since 2007. Previously, he was chairman of the board of CME and CME Holdings since 2002 and executive chairman since 2006.

He is vice chairman of the CME Group Foundation, serves on the board of directors of World Business Chicago, the board of trustees of Saint Xavier University, and the regional advisory board of The American Ireland Fund. He is also co-chair of the Mayo Clinic Greater Chicago Leadership Council.

In 2002, Duffy was appointed by President Bush to serve on a National Saver Summit on Retirement Savings and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2003 to the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

A third-generation Irish American, Terrence attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

In 2007, he received a Doctor of Humane Letters from DePaul University.

Belfast native Paul Dwyer is the director of technology management for Fidelity Investments in Durham, North Carolina. In 2005 he was named one of the Top 50 Business Leaders by Developing Belfast and is a co-author of the American Management Association book The Program Management Office Advantage, published in 2009.

Paul is currently a member of the Boston Irish Business Association and the New England chapter of the Ireland Chamber of Commerce USA and has worked for nonprofits such as The Irish Pastoral Center, the Inner City Scholarship Foundation and The American Ireland Fund. For nearly a decade he was president of the American Friends of the University of Ulster, where he received an honors degree in computer sciences.

His community work, he says, “has always been focused on providing opportunity for people to be successful as I have enjoyed much success in my nineteen years on these shores.”

Paul became a U.S. citizen in 2004 and currently lives in the heart of the North Carolina’s Research Triangle with his wife, Susan, and their six-year-old son, Jack.

MARY CALLAHAN ERDOES

WALTER J. FAHEY

JAMES FARLEY

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Maimonides Medical Center

Ford Motor Company

Mary Callahan Erdoes is CEO of J.P. Morgan’s Asset Management division, a global leader in investment management and private banking with more than $2.0 trillion in assets under supervision. In addition to being a member of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s Operating Committee, Mary leads the firm’s strategic partnership with Highbridge Capital Management and Gávea Investimentós. She joined J.P. Morgan in 1996 from Meredith, Martin & Kaye.

A graduate of Georgetown University (BS) and Harvard Business School (MBA.), Mary was recognized by Forbes and Fortune magazines for their “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” and “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” lists, respectively. This year, Bloomberg Markets magazine named her the Most Influential Money Manager as part of its “World’s 50 Most Influential People” list.

An Illinois native, Mary is a fourth-generation Irish American. Her great-grandparents emigrated from Cork on her father’s side and Tipperary on her mother’s. She lives in New York with her husband and three daughters.

Since 1995, Walter J. Fahey has been senior vice president and CIO at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. With more than 25 years of information technology experience in healthcare, Walter has held positions at the Hospital for Joint Diseases and held information technology leadership positions at Baxter Health Care, St. Vincent’s Medical Center and the New York Methodist Hospital.

Under Walter’s leadership, Maimonides has received numerous accolades to become a nationally recognized center for healthcare IT, including the 1998 ComputerWorld Smithsonian Award, the Nicholas E. Davies Award, and American Hospital Association’s “Most Wired” and/or “Most Wireless” company. Additionally, Walter sits on the board of the American Hospital Association, One View, Aruba, and Unisys and was instrumental in developing the Brooklyn Health Information Exchange in 2005.

Walter is a second-generation Irish American with maternal (Early) roots in Co. Cork, and Fahey roots in Galway. He holds an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

James Farley is Ford Motor Company’s executive vice president, Global Marketing, Sales and Service and Lincoln, and is the company’s most senior marketing leader. Before being appointed to his current position in December 2012, Jim was group vice president, global marketing, sales and service. Prior to that, he was group vice president, global marketing and Canada, Mexico and South America. Before joining Ford, he was group vice president and general manager of Lexus.

James joined Toyota in 1990 and had a distinguished career there, a highlight being his responsibility for the successful launch and rollout of Toyota’s new Scion brand. James was later promoted to vice president of Scion and was responsible for all Scion activities.

A cousin of the late comedian Chris Farley, James Farley earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and computer science from Georgetown University and has an MBA from UCLA. His grandfather was a longtime Ford worker who eventually ran a Lincoln-Mercury dealership near Detroit. James and his wife, Lia, have three children.

54 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

KPMG LLP would like to congratulate all the Irish America 2013 Business 100 honorees. In particular, we are proud to recognize and commend our KPMG partners: Shaun T. Kelly Vice Chairman, Operations John M. Farrell Partner, Advisory Shaun and John, your professional excellence, community involvement, and ability to think beyond borders are an inspiration to us all. kpmg.com

© 2013 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. The KPMG name, logo and “cutting through complexity” are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International. NDPPS 229423

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BRENDAN P. FARRELL, JR.

JOHN MICHAEL FARRELL

IRIAL FINAN

SunGard

KPMG, LLP

The Coca-Cola Company

Brendan P. Farrell, Jr. is executive vice president for SunGard’s XSP, responsible for the overall management, direction, and development of the XSP business. Prior to the acquisition of XSP by SunGard in December 2012, Brendan was founder and chief executive officer of XSP. With almost 30 years of experience in financial services, he was previously VP of sales and marketing at Financial Information, Inc. and held various positions at Bank of New York.

Brendan created IMMRAM, an informal network for the Irish Diaspora. He is a director to the board of the American Friends of Athlone Institute of Technology, Inc. Foundation and serves on the St. Patrick’s Day Foundation NYC board. In 2012, he was named Person of the Year

by FTF News, and CEO of the Year by Goodacre Systems in the City.

Born in the U.S. to Brendan, Sr. from Ballinalee, Co. Longford and Rita from Knockbrack, Knockagoshel, Co. Kerry, Brendan was raised in Longford Town, where his family ran O’Farrell’s Bar and Grocery. He lives in Denville, NJ with his wife of 21 years, Christine, and their children, Dylan and Brianna.

John Michael Farrell is a consulting partner in KPMG’s New York office, with over 25 years of management and risk consulting experience.

John, who received his Master’s of Science degree in accounting, and a Master’s of Business Administration in finance from Long Island University, is also a certified public accountant in New York State and belongs to the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

John is a fourth-generation Irish American with roots in County Monaghan on his father’s side. His grandmother was one of eleven children born at the turn of the century in New York. John’s great-grandparents came to America from Ireland in the 1880s.

Irial Finan is executive vice president, The CocaCola Company and president of Bottling Investments. He is responsible for managing a multi-billion-dollar internal bottling business, Bottling Investments Group (BIG), which has operations in 5 continents. Irial has 29 years experience in the Coca-Cola system. From 2001 to 2003, he served as CEO of Coca-Cola HBC. Irial joined the Coca-Cola Company in 2004 as president, Bottling Investments and Supply Chain, and was named executive vice president of the company later that year. Irial serves on the boards of directors of Coca-Cola FEMSA, Coca-Cola HBC, and the Supervisory Board of CCE AG. He is a non-executive director for Co-operation Ireland and NUI Galway Foundation. Irial is also a past recipient of the Leslie C. Quick Jr. Leadership Award, and is an Irish America Stars of the South honoree.

He holds a BC from National University of Ireland in Galway and is an associate (later fellow) of the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants. Most recently he received an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from NUI in Galway Ireland. Irial and his wife, Deirdre, have two daughters, Ciara and Roisin.

KATIE GRACE FINNEGAN

ANNE M. FINUCANE

DAVID FITZGERALD

Hukkster

Bank of America

Fitzgerald+CO

Katie Grace Finnegan is the co-founder of Hukkster, an e-commerce tech start-up that allows online shoppers to track sales and discount information on products. Since launching in May 2012, Hukkster has been recognized in the Time Inc. Top 10 NYC Start-ups of 2013 and the Time Inc. 50 Best Websites 2013, and Katie and her cofounder Erica Bell were TechWeek 100 honorees.

A 2005 graduate of Colgate University with a BA in history and religion, she went on to earn her MBA in Corporate Finance and Strategy from Duke. With roots in Galway, Mayo and Cork, Katie attributes her success to her Irish heritage and family. The eldest girl of five, Katie is used to working as a team, and she and her cofounder are very proud of the team they’ve created at Hukkster. “We knew building the right team, with the right skills and passion was what would really set us apart. By yourself you can only accomplish so much,” Katie told Irish America, “but motivating a team makes your product exponentially better and influence [go] exponentially further!”

Anne M. Finucane is global strategy and marketing officer at Bank of America and is also a member of the company’s executive management team.

She is responsible for Bank of America’s public policy and brand positioning around the world, and she also oversees the company’s corporate social responsibility program, which includes a 10-year, $2 billion charitable giving goal through the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, and a $50 billion environmental business initiative that follows the fulfillment of the bank’s 10-year $20 billion environmental goal.

A recipient of the 2013 New York Women in Communications Matrix Award and listed among American Banker’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking, Anne is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on numerous boards including Carnegie Hall, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Foundation, Partners Healthcare, and the American Ireland Fund. She has roots in County Cork on both sides of her family, most notably through her grandfather, Michael Finucane, who came to the U.S. as a young boy.

In 1983, Dave Fitzgerald founded advertising agency Fitzgerald+CO, where he remains president and CEO. His company was named Best Agency in the Southeast by Adweek and, for five straight years, was named one of the best companies to work for in Atlanta by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

A second-generation Irish American, Dave ran the Order of the Green Jacket of Ireland, which helped raise funds for Irish athletes in the 1996 Olympics. He is a member of the board of St. Joseph’s Hospital, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and Road Safe America. He is chairman of the Buckhead Coalition, Atlanta St. Patrick’s Day Parade and a member of the Global Irish Economic Forum.

Dave received his BS and MBA from the University of Dayton, where he was honored with the Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.

Having visited Ireland over forty times, he became an Irish citizen in 2004 and traces his family to the western counties of Kerry and Mayo. Dave calls his Irish heritage “a source of great pride.”

56 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Purpose-driven leaders Irish America’s 2013 Business 100 recognizes the best and brightest Irish-American leaders at the helms of some of the most innovative and powerful corporations in the world.

We are proud to congratulate this year’s Business 100 honorees, including Dennis Nally, Kieran Claffey and Tom Codd. www.pwc.com

© 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership. All rights reserved.

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JOHN FITZPATRICK

KATHLEEN L. FLANAGAN

WILLIAM J. FLYNN

Fitzpatrick Hotel Group

Abt Associates

Mutual of America

John Fitzpatrick is president and CEO of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group, North America. He served as chairman of the Hotel Association of NYC for three terms, and was secretary/treasurer for the American Hotel & Lodging Association, becoming Vice Chairman in 2013. He is on the board of the Ireland-U.S. Council, and in 2013 became the new Chairman of The American Ireland Fund.

Active in a number of philanthropic activities that aid children and advance the peace process in Northern Ireland, John was conferred with an honorary OBE in 2008. Queen’s University Belfast awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Science in Economics in 2011, and in 2013 Dublin City University bestowed an honorary degree of Philosophy. He received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2002.

In 1993, John founded the Eithne and Paddy Fitzpatrick Memorial Foundation in memory of his parents. The foundation has generated more than $1.3 million for charities.

Since becoming president and CEO of Abt Associates in 2009, Kathleen L. Flanagan has more than doubled the size of the firm to a $550 million company with 2,700 employees worldwide. She joined Abt in 1983 and is the company’s first female CEO. Prior to her 2009 appointment, she was group vice president for U.S., business, and has worked with clients such as the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, HUD, the World Bank and USAID over her 30 years at Abt. Born in Syracuse, New York, Kathleen is a third-generation Irish American on both parents’ sides. She holds an MS in public policy and a BA in economics and political science from the University of Rochester, and is a member of the Massachusetts Women’s Forum. Of her Irish heritage, Kathleen says she grew up with a deep sense of the spirit of Céad Míle Failte, which helped define her approach to business. “Everyone has something to contribute,” she says, “and I want to hear what they have to say.” She and her husband, Larry Orr, have two daughters.

During his 34 years with Mutual of America, Bill Flynn established himself as a great leader whose business skills were reflected in Mutual of America’s performance and recognized throughout the life insurance industry. Today he is Mutual’s chairman emeritus.

Bill’s commitment to social justice continues to be felt in the success of the Irish peace process and the work of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP). As the first Irish-American chairman of the NCAFP, it was Flynn who invited all of Northern Ireland’s political leaders, including Gerry Adams, to the U.S., a move that propelled Northern Ireland into the peace process.

A graduate of Fordham University, Bill is a first-generation Irish American with roots in Counties Mayo and Down. In 1996, he was Grand Marshal of New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Bill was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame in 2011.

WILLIAM C. FORD, JR.

MARK GALLAGHER

MATT GALLIGAN

Ford Motor Company

Silicon Valley Bank

Circa

As executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, William Clay Ford, Jr., is leading the company that put the world on wheels into the 21st century. Bill joined Ford in 1979 as a product planning analyst. He held a variety of domestic and international assignments in manufacturing, sales, marketing, product development and finance before becoming vice president, Commercial Truck Vehicle Center in 1994.

He served as CEO from October 2001 to September 2006. A member of the board since 1988, he became chairman in 1999, and is also chairman of the board’s Finance Committee. Bill is vice chairman of the Detroit Lions football team, chairman of the board of the Detroit Economic Club, and a member of the boards of The Henry Ford, the Henry Ford Health System, Business Leaders for Michigan and eBay, Inc. Bill holds a BA degree from Princeton and an MS degree in management as an Alfred P. Sloan fellow from MIT. He is the great-grandson of founder and innovator Henry Ford, who was the son of an Irish immigrant from Cork. In 2011, Bill was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame.

Mark Gallagher is managing director at Silicon Valley Bank in Boston and is the bank’s senior sales and business development professional in the Northeast, with over fourteen years with the company. A native of Dublin, Mark graduated from University College Dublin with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science, and with an MBA from Trinity College Dublin.

Mark is a trustee for the Massachusetts Technology and Leadership Council and is the recipient of the 2013 Boston Irish Business Association’s Irish American Business Award. He was the winner of the Silicon Valley Bank President’s Club in 2009 and 2011.

Gallagher became a U.S citizen in 2007, and speaks fondly of being Irish in America: “I am always amazed at how warm the welcome is here and how quickly you are accepted. Whether I am in America or Ireland I always feel like I am home.”

Mark lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts with his wife, Michelle, and his three children, Jack, Cormac and Annie.

Matt Galligan is the co-founder and CEO of Circa, a media organization dedicated to producing news for mobile consumption. Matt and his co-founder Ben Huh developed the concept at the TechStars 2011 reunion. Circa was then officially founded in December 2011 and launched its app, Circa News, in October 2012. A version for Android recently launched.

Matt’s first company was Socialthing, a platform designed to coordinate management of personal social networks, which was acquired by AOL in 2008. Galligan left AOL in 2009 to start SimpleGeo which facilitated ways for developers to leverage location data for apps and websites, and was acquired by UrbanAirship in 2011.

A mentor for TechStars and Highway1 Accelerator, Matt is also an advisor to numerous start-up companies. In 2010, Matt was listed in Business Insider’s Silicon Valley 100, and has been a conference speaker at the Dublin Web Summit and SXSW Interactive. A native of Illinois, Matt currently resides in San Francisco.

58 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

We salute the Irish and Irish-American financial leaders recognized for their extraordinary accomplishments.

Congratulations to our own Kathleen Murphy and Paul Dwyer on receiving this honor.



Fidelity Investments is proud to sponsor: ®

Irish America magazine’s Business 100

Fidelity, Fidelity Investments, and the Fidelity Investments and pyramid design logo are registered service marks of FMR LLC. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917 © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved. 669621.1.0

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DAVID GREANEY

JACK HAIRE

American Express Company

Synergy Investments

Parade Publications

Ed Gilligan is president of American Express Company, a position he has held since April 2013. Ed is responsible for the company’s global consumer, small business, merchant services, and network services businesses.

While studying for his BS in economics and management at New York University in 1980, Ed joined American Express as a temp. He became full time with the company in 1982. In June 1995, Ed took the position of president for Commercial Card and Business Travel for the United States. He was named one of the two group presidents at American Express in 2002 and ran the international consumer card business as well as the global portfolio of payment and travel services.

Ed is a member of the board of directors of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in NY and a member on the boards of Concur Technologies and TheFancy.com.

Ed is a first-generation Irish-American with family from Castlerea, Co. Roscommon on his father’s side. He lives in New York with his wife, Lisa, and their four children.

David Greaney is the founder and president of Synergy Investments, a Boston based real estate investment firm. He is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the company and overseeing the acquisition, equity and debt related activities of Synergy’s various investment partnerships.

A graduate of University College Dublin, and a Certified Public Accountant in Massachusetts, he previously held positions in the investment management groups of Harvard University and PwC. David is active in the Irish-American business community and has received the Entrepreneurial Award from the Irish Chamber of Commerce and was named one of Business & Finance Magazine’s “Most Influential US-Irish Business Leaders.” In 2011, he received the Boston Business Journal’s 40 under 40 Award.

David is a board member of the MA chapter of the NAIOP, the Downtown Business Improvement District and Downtown North Association. He actively supports a number of charitable causes, including the American Ireland Fund and the Claddagh Fund, the charitable foundation of the Dropkick Murphys.

Jack Haire is president and CEO of Parade Publications, publishers of PARADE, the most widely read magazine in America. Under his leadership, Parade has expanded to include Parade Digital Partners, a unique content distribution network with over 48 million monthly visitors across 500+ newspaper web sites, and the new monthly food magazine and web business, dash, which includes branded content from Bon Appétit, Epicurious.com and Gourmet.

Before joining Parade, Jack spent 28 years at Time Warner Inc. He was publisher of TIME, president of the Fortune/Money Group, and chairman of the Time Warner Advertising Council. On his watch, both Time and Fortune were chosen as Adweek’s Hottest Magazine. Jack serves on the board of Concern Worldwide and as a director of LodgeNet Interactive and Tech Media Network.

Jack lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children. His great-grandparents came from Cork and Donegal to NYC via Ellis Island during the Famine. Jack’s brother and sister have homes in Glen, Donegal.

GORDON HARDIE

BRIAN KELLEY

ED KELLY

Bunge Food & Ingredients

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

American Express Publishing

Gordon Hardie is the managing director of Bunge Food & Ingredients as well as a member of the executive committee of Bunge Ltd., a global agribusiness and food company dedicated to improving the food supply chain from farm to shelf to stovetop. Prior to joining Bunge, Gordon spent 12 years in Australia, where he co-led the IPO for Goodman Fielder, Ltd. on the Australian Stock Exchange. It has since become the largest listed food company in Australasia.

A native of Cork, Gordon holds a BA in languages and psychology and a higher diploma in education from University College Cork, and an MBA from University College Dublin’s Smurfit Graduate School of Business, where he was recently honored as Alumnus of the Year.

Gordon lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children and holds dual Irish and Australian citizenship. He sees himself as part of an emerging global Irish community that believes in writer Colum McCann’s imperative to “create a contemporary Irishness that is agile enough to understand that we can be in more than two places at once.”

Brian Kelley became the CEO and director of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in December, 2012. His business career has spanned 28 years, with experience at P&G, GE, the Ford Motor Company (where he was the president of Lincoln Mercury), and 5 years as the president and CEO of SIRVA (a $4 billion global relocation company which Brian took public in 2003). He joined CocaCola in 2007 as president of its $6 billion non-carbonated beverages business in North America, and in 2010 led the integration of the company’s acquisition of Coca-Cola Enterprises and the formation of Coca-Cola Refreshments.

Brian was the third of seven children born to an Irish Catholic family in Cincinnati, OH. His great-grandfather, Eugene, emigrated from Co. Cork in the mid-1880s.

A graduate of Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA with a degree in economics, Brian has served on a number of boards including Hertz, Mazda, SIRVA, VWR and the Internet Capital Group. He and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Erin and Gwen.

Since 2000, Ed Kelly has been president and CEO of American Express Publishing Corporation, the parent company for magazines like Travel +Leisure, Food & Wine, Departures, Executive Travel, and Black Ink. Prior to his appointment to this position, Ed was the senior vice president and group publisher of Travel + Leisure. Since joining the company in 1989, Ed has also served as publisher for each of the company’s magazines. For the last four years in a row, he has led the company to double digit growth.

A New York City native, Ed characterizes his Irish ancestors from Sligo as “hard-working, fun-loving, and generous.” He is a graduate of Rollins College.

Ed is the president and co-founder of the Kelly Gang, an Irish American charity organization of media industry professionals with the surname Kelly. In the last decade, the Kelly Gang has raised more than half a million dollars for charitable causes. He is also a board member of the Advertising Club of New York, the Association of Magazine Media, and the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club. He lives with his wife and three children in New York.

ED GILLIGAN

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MARGARET KELLY

SHAUN KELLY

KATHLEEN KENNEDY

RE/MAX LLC

KPMG, LLP

Lucasfilm

Margaret Kelly became RE/MAX CEO in 2005, capping a series of leadership positions she has held since joining the organization as a financial analyst in 1987. She was named vice president in 1992 and president in 2002.

In January 2010, Kelly was appointed to the board of directors of the Denver Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. She has been honored by Inman News as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders of 2009. In 2013, the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce named her one of the top 25 Most Powerful Women. She speaks before industry groups around the U.S., has served as CEO guest anchor on CNBC’s The Call, and has been quoted by The Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters and other media outlets.

Margaret grew up in the Detroit area and earned a BBA in finance and accounting from Walsh College. A breast cancer survivor, she is an advocate of the RE/MAX national sponsorship of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure series.

A third-generation Irish American, Margaret finds time to enjoy a very active life with her husband, John, and their two sons.

Shaun Kelly is vice chair – operations for KPMG LLP, responsible for the execution of the firm’s financial plan. In October 2010 he was appointed chief operating officer, Americas. In this position, he works with the leaders of the KPMG International member firms to align their respective strategies, structure and plans.

A native of Belfast, Shaun joined KPMG International’s Irish member firm in Dublin in 1980 and transferred to the San Francisco office in 1984. He was admitted to the U.S. partnership in 1999. He earned a Bachelor of Commerce, first class honors from University College, Dublin, and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, and a certified public accountant. He is treasurer and member of the executive committee of Enactus, co-chair of KPMG’s Disabilities Network, and a member of KPMG’s Diversity Advisory Board. He also serves on the North American Advisory Board of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, and on the board of directors of the Irish Arts Center in New York.

Shaun and his wife, Mary, who is from Donegal, live in Connecticut. They have four children.

Kathleen Kennedy is one of the most successful and respected producers and executives in the film industry. She joined Lucasfilm in 2012, personally selected by George Lucas to lead the company.

She currently sits on the board of governors and board of trustees of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

Kennedy has produced or executive produced over 60 films, which have collectively garnered 120 Academy Award nominations, 25 wins, and have grossed over $11 billion worldwide. Among her credits are four of the highest grossing films in motion picture history: Jurassic Park, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Sixth Sense, as well as such blockbuster entertainment as the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Gremlins, The Goonies, Poltergeist, War of the Worlds, Twister and A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

Kathleen attended San Diego University, where she studied telecommunications and film. A fourthgeneration Irish American, Kathleen traces her Irish ancestry through her father, Donald Kennedy.

She and her husband, Frank Marshall, have two daughters, Lillian and Meghan.

PATRICK KEOUGH

ELLEN KULLMAN

A.G. LAFLEY

Lion Group Consulting

DuPont

P&G

Patrick Keough is president & CEO of Lion Group Consulting, a company he founded, which develops strategic marketing & communications platforms for a prestigious roster of global corporate clients, garnering a number of industry awards.

Before founding Lion Group Consulting in 2009, Patrick had a distinguished career in advertising and corporate communications spanning over two decades. Working for industry leaders WPP, IPG and FD, he shepherded the advertising, marketing and corporate communications of such illustrious global brands as Johnson & Johnson, Samsung, and The Coca-Cola Company.

Patrick holds a BA from Notre Dame, an MA from the University of Georgia, and serves on Notre Dame’s College of Arts & Letters advisory council. His profound connection and love of Ireland is evidenced by his tireless efforts on behalf of Connect Ireland, among the many Irish causes he supports. He and his wife, Megan, live in Rye, NY and have four children; Donald and Matthew at Notre Dame, Caroline at Michigan State, and Alison at Rye High School.

Ellen Kullman is chair of the board and chief executive officer of DuPont. As CEO, she has championed market-driven science to drive innovation across the company’s businesses.

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Ellen began her career at DuPont in 1988 as a marketing manager. She is chair of the U.S. China Business Council and member of the business council and the executive committee of SCI-America.

She is a board member of Change the Equation and co-chair of the National Academy of Engineering Committee on Changing the Conversation: From Research to Action. Ellen is on the board of directors of United Technologies Corp. She is also on the board of trustees of Tufts University and serves on the board of overseers at Tufts University School of Engineering.

Prior to joining DuPont, Ellen worked for General Electric. She holds a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Tufts and a master’s degree in management from Northwestern.

Ellen is a third-generation Irish American whose mother’s family came from Nenagh, Tipperary.

A.G. Lafley is P&G’s chairman of the board, president & CEO. He previously served as president & CEO from 2000 to 2009. During this time, the company more than doubled sales and grew its portfolio of billion-dollar brands from 10 to 23.

A.G. grew up in Keene, New Hampshire, and graduated from Hamilton College. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1970 where he oversaw all the retail and service operations for 10,000 Navy and Marine corps and their families in Japan.

After the Navy, A.G. graduated from Harvard Business School and joined P&G in 1977. Over the next 15 years he moved up through the ranks and went back to Japan in 1994, with responsibility for P&G’s operations in Asia. In 1999, he ran P&G’s fast-growing Beauty business, along with the company’s business in North America. He retired from P&G in early 2010 and served as a senior advisor at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice until returning to P&G this year. A second-generation Irish American with roots in Cork, A.G. says his Irish grandmother Katherine “Kitty” Irwin was a major influence during his childhood.

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LEEANN LEAHY

DR. PEARSE LYONS

JOHN MACKEY

The VIA Agency

Alltech

Whole Foods Market, Inc

Leeann Leahy is a seasoned brand strategist and consumer insights expert. In 2012, she became president of The VIA Agency, a leading independent marketing agency, headquartered in Portland, Maine. Prior to this, she was president of Translation, LLC. Before joining Translation, Leeann was chief strategy officer of Lowe, NY, where she was also global chief strategy officer for all of Johnson & Johnson. Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards including global and domestic Effies, an International Obie, and Cannes Lions.

A native of New York, Leeann graduated from College of the Holy Cross with a BA in political science.

She is a second-generation Irish American with roots in Williamstown, Co. Galway on her father’s side of the family, and in Co. Cork on her mother’s. Her husband, Thomas Leahy, Jr., is a member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. They have three children, Mac, Winnie and Duncan.

Dr. T. Pearse Lyons is the founder and president of Alltech, a global animal health company founded in 1980. Since then, the company has grown to annual sales of nearly one billion dollars. In 2013, Alltech supported The Gathering Ireland, participating in the Kennedy family’s anniversary trip to the Isle.

Pearse received his bachelor’s degree from University College Dublin and obtained his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Birmingham, England. He worked as a biochemist for Irish Distillers before founding Alltech. Since then, he has authored more than 20 books and numerous research papers in scientific journals.

Alltech’s commitment to equestrian sport began with the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky, attended by more than half a million spectators and seen by 500 million television viewers. Pearse’s leadership led to his receiving the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s firstever Legacy Award in 2011. In 2013, he received the Royal Dublin Society Gold Medal for Industry and Commerce. Dublin-born Pearse and his wife, Deirdre, have two children, Aoife and Mark. His Irish heritage fills him “with a sense of belonging.”

As the co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, Inc., John Mackey is a leading practitioner of empowerment management and has helped build a $12 billion Fortune 300 company, now one of the top 20 supermarket companies in America.

John and the Whole Foods Market leadership team recently offered $10 million in low-interest loans to local farmers and food producers to help them expand their enterprises, launching the Whole Planet Foundation to help end poverty in developing nations with micro credit, creating a platform in the marketplace to improve welfare for food animals, creating transparency in seafood sustainability, and promoting healthy eating education.

John is the co-founder of Conscious Capitalism, a non-profit organization with the tagline “Liberating the Entrepreneurial Spirit for Good” and the co-author of Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business, a Wall Street Journal bestseller. About his heritage, John says: “My sense of humor and playfulness probably come from my Irish side! I love being both Irish and Scottish.”

TREVOR MADIGAN

MATT MALONEY

JAMES F. MCCANN

The Vision Lab

GrubHub Seamless

1-800-Flowers

Trevor Madigan is managing director of The Vision Lab, a technology company created in 2012.

Prior to Vision Lab, Trevor joined the Facebook team in New York in early 2011 as global business manager. He led international sales & business development for Facebook’s key partners, advertisers and some of the world’s leading brands.

Prior to Facebook, Trevor spent seven years at Nokia where he held several global sales leadership positions in its consumer services business unit, most recently as head of North American Sales for Location & Advertising.

Trevor holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and politics from University College Dublin and a DBS in business strategy from the London School of Economics. Over the past decade he has sat on the advisory boards of University College Dublin, Graduate Business School, and technology leader at skillpages.com. A native of Dublin, Trevor now lives in Manhattan with his wife, Breanne. Of being Irish, he says, “I sometimes need to pinch myself and smile when I think how far we have come and how much we have achieved, with so many chancers.”

Matt Maloney has been the CEO of GrubHub Seamless since the spring, 2013 merger of the two largest online food delivery services, GrubHub and Seamless.com. Previously, Matt was the CEO of GrubHub, a company he co-founded in 2004 with his friend Mike Evans. In 2006, GrubHub won the University of Chicago’s New Venture Challenge and since then, Matt has seen the company through five rounds of investment funding and the acquisition of DotMenu. In 2012 he was Built in Chicago Moxie Award CEO of the Year.

Matt, whose Maloney ancestors emigrated from Clare, holds a BS from Michigan State University and two masters degrees from the University of Chicago, in business administration and computer science. Irish heritage is important to both Matt and his wife, Holly, who have “been to Ireland three times, including one trip to the Dingle Peninsula to find her ancestors and a couple visits to the Guinness factory in Dublin.” Matt is a frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal’s Accelerator’s Blog and currently sits on Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s Illinois Innovation Council.

Jim McCann is a successful entrepreneur, public speaker and author whose passion is to help people deliver smiles. Jim’s belief in the universal need for social connections and interaction led to his founding of 1-800-Flowers.com, which he has built into the world’s leading florist and gift shop, and Celebrations.com, a leading website for expert party planning content and advice.

Jim’s willingness to embrace new technologies that help people connect and express themselves, such as the Internet, mobile commerce and social networking, often long before others, has enabled him to stay at the forefront of consumer and social trends. As a result, he has become an award-winning public speaker, a published author and a frequent guest on radio and television programs nationwide. In addition to serving as CEO and chairman of the board of directors for 1-800-Flowers.com, Jim is the non-executive chairman of Willis Group Holdings Limited and a board member for a variety of private and notfor-profit boards. He is a third-generation Irish American with roots in Armagh and Limerick.

64 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Abt Associates Congratulates Kathleen Flanagan President and CEO A 2013 Irish America Business 100 honoree.

Learn more about how Abt Associates is making a difference in people’s lives.

www.abtassociates.com

Lion Group Consulting congratulates

Irish America Magazine Business 100 Honorees including

Donald Keough with heartfelt thanks

Patrick Keough LionGroupConsulting.com

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CHRISTINE M. MCCARTHY

ANDREW MCDERMOTT

BILL MCDERMOTT

The Walt Disney Company

Spruce Media

SAP

Christine M. McCarthy is treasurer and executive vice president of Corporate Finance and Real Estate of The Walt Disney Company. Prior to joining Disney, Christine was the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Imperial Bancorp from 1997 to 1999 and an EVP at First Interstate until it was acquired by Wells Fargo in 1996.

Christine is currently on the board and finance committee of FM Global. She serves on the board of trustees for the Westridge School in Pasadena and is a mentor for the National Math and Science Initiative’s STEM program. Treasury & Risk named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in Finance in 2003 and 2011. Christine was a board member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association from 1998 to 2001.

A third generation Irish American, Christine was born in Winthrop, MA. She completed her bachelor’s degree in biology at Smith College, later earning an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA. She and her husband, Michael McCormick, live in California with their two children.

As vice president of product at Spruce Media, Andrew McDermott manages the process, execution, and evaluation of product development.

In this capacity, he ensures that Spruce Media continues to provide the highest-level Facebook marketing solutions. Prior to joining the founding team of Spruce Media in 2009, Andrew was the general manager at Gratis Internet, a performance-based advertising technology company. In 2012 and 2013 both, Spruce Media was recognized on the Forbes 500 list and since its inception in 2010, Spruce has expanded their offices to four major American cities.

Born in Buffalo, New York but raised in Jamaica, Andrew is descended from three Irish families who immigrated to the Americas in the 19th century. His own emigration from Jamaica in 1995 allows him to feel a close connection with his “adventurous and resilient Irish ancestors” and to maintain “the same personal drive, perseverance, exploration, and embrace of diversity” that he feels are “at the core of the Irish people.” He holds a BS in finance and business administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he was also a Daniel Ackers Scholar.

Bill McDermott was appointed co-CEO of SAP alongside Jim Hagemann Snabe in February 2010. In May 2014, he will become the company’s sole chief executive. Bill oversees all customer operations, sales, marketing, communications, corporate development, and ecosystem activities.

He previously oversaw SAP’s operations in the Americas and Asia Pacific Japan regions.

Bill earned his MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, and a BS from Dowling College. He has completed the Executive Development Program at the Wharton School. In 2013, Bill and Jim Snabe were ranked #2 on Glassdoor.com’s listing of the 50 top CEOs based on their 99% approval rating from employees.

As an active community leader and advocate for corporate social responsibility, he has been widely recognized for his civic leadership, most recently with the 2012 Promise Award from the Children’s Aid Society of New York City.

Bill is a third-generation Irish American with roots in Co. Roscommon on his father’s side.

ANDREW MCKENNA

MAUREEN MITCHELL

MARGARET MOLLOY

McDonald’s Corporation

GE Asset Management

Siegel+Gale

Andrew McKenna is chairman of McDonald’s Corporation and Schwarz Supply Source. He serves as a director of Ryan Specialty Group, McDonald’s Corporation, the Chicago Bears Football Club and Skyline Corporation. He is a director of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, the Big Shoulders Fund, the Ireland Economic Advisory Board, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, Civic Committee and the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a BS in business administration, he was awarded the university’s Laetare Medal in 2000.

He served as the chairman of the board of trustees from 1992-2000 and continues on the board today. He is also a graduate of the DePaul University Law School where he received a Doctor of Jurisprudence.

A second-generation Irish American, with roots in Mayo and Monaghan, he and his wife, Joan, have seven grown children, 24 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Maureen Mitchell joined GE Asset Management (GEAM) in 2009 as president, Institutional Sales and Marketing, and in 2011 was promoted to president, Global Sales and Marketing. With over 25 years’ experience in the investment management industry, including 20 in sales, Maureen has built a distinguished career. She previously spent 10 years with Bear Stearns Asset Management as a senior managing director, and held executive leadership positions with Highland Capital Management, Scudder Kemper and U.S. Trust.

A graduate of CUNY with a graduate degree from Fordham, Maureen is a member of the GEAM board of directors, the board of GE Asset Management Funds II plc, and the board of directors of GE Investment Distributors, Inc. A first-generation Irish American with roots in Sligo, where her father worked as a lobsterman before immigrating to the U.S. with her Galwayborn mother, Maureen has two daughters, graduates of Stanford, Wesleyan and Harvard Medical School, both of whom have traveled throughout Ireland with their mother.

Margaret Molloy is the global chief marketing officer for strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale.

Known as the “the simplicity company,” Siegel+Gale serves the world’s leading companies by delivering brand strategies, content, and experiences that are both fresh and clear. Margaret’s previous roles include SVP of Gerson Lehrman Group and senior director of Siebel Systems (Oracle). She has been named one of the top 10 CMOs on Twitter, one of the top 100 people mentioned by marketers on Twitter, and one of 7 CMOs to watch in 2013. She is on the advisory board of Sightsavers International and the Irish Business Network, and is an active member of The American Ireland Fund.

A native of Offaly, Margaret earned her MBA from the Harvard Business School and received her undergraduate degrees from the University of Ulster and La Universidad de Valladolid, Spain.

She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, and their sons, Finn and Emmet.

66 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Congratulations to the

2013 Irish America Business 100 Honorees

Brian Stack CIE Tours International

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THOMAS J. MORAN

DENISE MORRISON

BRIAN T. MOYNIHAN

Mutual of America

Campbell Soup Company

Bank of America

Thomas J. Moran has been president and CEO of Mutual of America since 1994, and was appointed chairman of the board in 2005. During more than three decades of service, over which he also served as COO, Tom has participated in Mutual’s growth from a small retirement association to a mutual life insurance company with over $13 billion in assets.

Chairman of Concern Worldwide U.S., Tom serves on the boards of directors of the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Educational Broadcasting System, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and the NYC Irish Hunger Memorial. He has also been honored with an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the National University of Ireland and an Honorary Doctor of Science in Economics from Queens University Belfast.

With roots in Fermanagh and Tipperary, he serves on the Irish Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Board and the boards of the Irish Chamber of Commerce and the Ireland-U.S. Council. He earned a BS in math from Manhattan College. Tom and his wife, Joan, live in New York City.

Denise Morrison became president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company on August 1, 2011. She joined Campbell in 2003. Previously, she served as executive vice president and general manager of Kraft Foods’ Snacks and Confections divisions.

Denise, who was recently named to Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list, serves on several boards including the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

She is the chair of its Health & Wellness Committee and is a founding member of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, an initiative designed to combat obesity in the marketplace, workplace, and in schools. She also serves on the board of Students In Free Enterprise.

A third-generation Irish American with roots in Mayo and Cork, Denise earned her BS in economics and psychology from Boston College, graduating magna cum laude. She was inducted into the Order of the Cross and Crown Honor Society for academic and extracurricular achievement. Of her Irish heritage Denise says, “I see the world through Irish eyes and they are smiling.”

She and her husband, Tom, have two children, Michelle and Kelly.

Brian T. Moynihan is the CEO and a member of the board of directors of Bank of America, one of the world’s largest financial institutions.

Brian joined Bank of America in 2004 following the company’s merger with FleetBoston Financial and became CEO in 2010. He is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Notre Dame Law School. In 2010, he was elected a trustee of the Corporation of Brown University.

In May 2012, Brian received the American Ireland Fund’s Leslie C. Quick Junior Leadership Award. In accepting the award, he talked about his heritage as a fourth-generation Irish American whose ancestors emigrated from Ireland to upstate New York in the 1850s. “The fighting spirit that led our relatives to come to America with little or nothing…that spirit is deeply ingrained in all Irish Americans. Hard work, tenacity and drive to do the right thing is something that serves us in good stead.”

ALAN MULALLY

EILEEN MURPHY

KATHLEEN MURPHY

Ford Motor Company

Virtual Instruments

Fidelity Investments

Alan Mulally is president and CEO of Ford Motor Co. and a member of the board of directors. Before joining Ford in 2006, Alan was executive vice president of The Boeing Company, and president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Throughout his career, Alan has been recognized for his industry leadership, including being named one of The World’s Most Influential People by Time, one of The 30 Most Respected CEOs by Barrons, Person of the Year by Aviation Week and a Best Leader by Business Week. Alan serves on President Obama’s Export Council. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of England’s Royal Academy of Engineering.

A Kansas native, Alan holds BS and MS degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Kansas, and earned a master’s in management from MIT as a 1982 Alfred P. Sloan fellow.

Alan traces his roots to Mayo and Dublin.

Eileen Murphy is the vice president of operations for Virtual Instruments, overseeing Human Resources, Supply Chain, Information Technology, and legal and general company operations. Eileen has over 15 years of experience with supply chain and operations leadership. Prior to joining Virtual Instruments, she was CFO at Rhino Toys Inc. and director of operations at Intersan.

Born in California, Eileen received a BA in management science from the University of California San Diego and a masters in communications from Cornell University. A second-generation Irish American with ancestors from Cork on her father’s side, Eileen is grateful for her Irish heritage which, she says, “has permeated our lives through family relatives, trips to Ireland, enjoyment of the music, and of course the beer.”

Eileen resides in California with her husband, Greg, and her two children, Colin and Monica.

Kathleen Murphy is president of Personal Investing, a unit of Fidelity Investments – the largest mutual fund company in the U.S. She assumed her position in January 2009 and oversees more than $1.25 trillion in client assets, more than 14 million customer accounts and over 11,500 employees. Her business is the nation’s No.1 provider of individual retirement accounts (IRAs), the fastest growing major online brokerage company, and a leading provider of managed account programs and college savings plans.

Prior to joining Fidelity, Kathy was CEO of ING U.S. Wealth Management. She received her BA summa cum laude from Fairfield University and earned her JD with highest honors from the University of Connecticut. Fortune magazine named her one of the “Top 50 Most Powerful Women” in American business. She is a thirdgeneration Irish American – her father’s family is from County Cork and her mother’s family is from Kerry. She is married with one son.

68 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

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BUSINESS 100

ROBERT MURRAY

DENNIS M. NALLY

EILEEN NAUGHTON

Skyword

PwC

Google

Robert Murray is president of Skyword Inc., responsible for the sales, marketing, and strategic and writer services of the company.

Rob holds a BS in management from Boston College and an MBA from Harvard. He first worked as an auditor for KPMG and later served as a consultant for Bain and Company. Prior to joining Skyword, he was global president of iProspect (now Dentsu), and before that held the posts of president of iProspect and CEO of iProspect, U.S. Murray is a native of Boston and a third-generation Irish American with descendants from Waterford on his father’s side and Kerry on his mother’s. Rob’s Irishness is tied to his personality – as he says, “most people know me for being tough to crack initially, but loyal to a fault once I let you in.”

Rob’s achievements include a Who’s Who in Search Marketing from BtOB Magazine from 2008-11, and board member of the Ad Club of Boston and DMG. He lives in Boston with his wife, Stephanie, and son, Chase.

Dennis Nally has served as chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd., the coordinating and governance entity of the PwC network, since 2009. Prior to that, he was the chairman and senior partner of the U.S. firm of PwC. He joined Pwc’s Detroit office in 1974.

Dennis is a frequent speaker at major forums on issues affecting the global capital markets. A graduate of Western Michigan University, Dennis also completed executive programs at Columbia and Penn State universities. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, The Business Roundtable, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business board of visitors, and the Carnegie Hall Society board of trustees.

As a second-generation Irish American with roots in Mayo, Dennis believes that “with a strong foundation of hard work and determination anything can be accomplished. My Irish ancestry demonstrated this by my grandparents and parents.”

As vice president of global sales for Google, Eileen Naughton is responsible for sales strategy and relationship management for Google’s largest agency and advertising clients around the world.

She most recently led Google’s high-growth display business in the Americas, and is responsible for sales, development, media strategy and operations across YouTube and the Google Display Network.

Prior to joining Google, Eileen had a distinguished career at Time Warner Inc., where she was president of the Time Group. AdAge magazine featured her as a “Woman to Watch,” in a 2007 issue, and in 2009, she was featured in How Remarkable Women Lead, a book by McKinsey & Co.’s Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston, focusing on successful female leaders. The American Diabetes Association has named Eileen a “Woman of Valor” for her work to raise awareness of the obesity epidemic.

Eileen holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in international studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from its Wharton School. Her father was from Roscommon and her mother grew up in Drumcliff, in the mountains near Sligo.

MARTIN NAUGHTON

DENIS O’BRIEN

DERMOT J. O’BRIEN

Glen Dimplex Group

Digicel

ADP, Inc.

Martin Naughton is the founder and president of the Glen Dimplex Group. He started the company in 1973 as Glen Electric, with a mere 10 employees, later acquiring Dimplex, the leading brand in the U.K. heating market.

An engineer by profession, Naughton oversaw his company’s growth to become the world’s largest manufacturer of domestic heating appliances.

A longtime supporter of the University of Notre Dame, in both a civic and philanthropic manner, Naughton was honored by the university in 2006 by renaming their Institute for Irish Studies as the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies (Donald Keough, a former Business 100 honoree and keynote, was the original benefactor of the Institute). Naughton has served on Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees since 1991. He co-founded the university’s Ireland Council, and received an honorary Doctor of Science in 1998. He was chairman of InterTrade-Ireland, a cross-border and business trade group, and has been extremely active in promoting peace in Ireland through economic ties. Naughton resides in County Meath.

Denis O’Brien is the founder and chairman of Digicel, one of the largest cellular phone companies in the world, which specializes in creating mobile networks in emerging markets such as Haiti, Jamaica and Papua New Guinea.

Chairman of the Clinton Global Initiative Haiti Action Network, O’Brien is a dedicated philanthropist. He has put over $16.5 million of his own wealth towards philanthropic projects, including the re-building of Port Au Prince’s iconic Iron Market, and his move to make cash transactions available for the poorest in the world via cell phones was, according to former U.S. President Bill Clinton writing in TIME magazine, the number one idea changing the world for the poor last year. O’Brien also serves on the board of directors of Concern Worldwide, U.S. In 2012, O’Brien served as the Irish America Business 100 Keynote Speaker.

Dermot J. O’Brien is the chief human resources officer for ADP, a human-capital-management provider that ranked 255th on the 2013 Fortune 500 list. He joined the company in April 2012 and leads its global human-capital strategy for 60,000 people. He was previously executive vice president of human resources at TIAACREF. Dermot started his financial services career at Morgan Stanley, where he spent nine years in various roles, including head of HR for Japan.

He is a founding member of the Human Resource-50 Group, and also serves on the CT Partners Advisory Board and helps develop the institute’s agenda and priorities. He volunteers with Junior Achievement, teaching children the basics of financial literacy. A native of Dublin, he holds a degree in finance from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University, where he is a frequent guest lecturer.

Dermot is the son of the late Dermot O’Brien, 1957 All-Ireland GAA captain for County Louth and well-known Irish entertainer.

70 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

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BUSINESS 100

EMMETT O’CONNELL

PATRICK O’CONNOR

TERENCE L. O’DAY

Great Western Mining Corporation

Starcom USA

The Hershey Company

Patrick O’Connor is the chief financial officer at Starcom USA. Based in Chicago, he is a member of the Starcom managing board, and directs a 100-person professional finance and media operations group. Pat became CFO at Starcom in 2003, expanding his role to include financial start-up and oversight of additional business units, including both traditional media and diverse media disciplines. He is responsible for all real estate activities of Starcom MediaVest Group business units in Chicago, including space planning and expansion.

He became a certified public accountant in May 1989, and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Illinois CPA Society.

Outside the office, he is an active supporter of the Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House.

Pat is a fourth-generation Irish American, with roots in Cork on his father’s side, and Roscommon on his mother’s. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Saint Francis before going on to earn his MBA at Loyola University in 1996. He and his wife, Anne, have five children.

Terence L. O’Day is senior vice president and chief supply chain officer for The Hershey Company. He leads the company’s global supply chain, which includes the sourcing, engineering, manufacturing, logistics, quality, regulatory compliance, facilities, and flight operations functions.

Before joining Hershey in 2008, Terry served as EVP and COO for Mannatech Inc. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Science, Terry was a pilot for the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard, and reached the rank of major. He received an MBA from Western Michigan University.

Terry and his wife, Susan, have two children, Corinne Shannon and Kyle Patrick. He is a second-generation Irish American with roots in County Clare on his father Russell’s side and County Galway on his mother Marguerite’s side.

Of his Irish heritage, Terry said, “I can still remember talks with my grandmother on how tough life was on the West Coast of Ireland and why so many of her family left. I learned from that experience the value of family, hard work, humility, and to always keep a sense of humor.”

Emmett O’Connell is chairman of the Great Western Mining Corporation, a mineral exploration company based in Nevada with headquarters in Dublin. A promoter of technology and exploration companies for over thirty years, Emmett has acted as founder and director of other companies including Eglington Exploration plc., Bryson Oil and Gas plc., Texas Continental Securities plc., and Seminole Land & Cattle Co. Emmett has been involved with highly successful public companies quoted on the London, Dublin and Vancouver stock exchanges. In 2008, the London PLUS market awarded Great Western Mining Corp. the best resource stock award for the continued investing and expansion of the company’s North American mineral resources. The company is now listed on the AIM market in London and the ESM market in Dublin.

Emmett was inducted as a Knight of St. Gregory in the Vatican in 1986. When not in some distant part of the world, he lives on a farm in Wexford with his wife of 50 years. He has three children and seven grandchildren.

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BUSINESS 100

PATRICK M. O’KEEFE

KEVIN C. O’MALLEY

GINA O’REILLY

O’Keefe

ELLE

Nitro

Founder and CEO of O’Keefe, Patrick M. O’Keefe is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of corporate reorganizations, debt restructuring, refinancing, and valuation and litigation support. Prior to founding O’Keefe, Patrick was a partner at Deloitte & Touche in charge of the Detroit Middle Market department.

A Michigan native, Patrick is proud of his fourthgeneration Cork heritage. “Being Irish is God’s greatest gift,” he says. “People never forget a kind word or where it came from. The Irish have a way to be kind and keep people smiling with laughter.”

Patrick serves on the board of directors for the Detroit Athletic Club, and is a former international board member of the Turnaround Management Association. His awards include 2013 Accounting /Due Diligence Firm of the year by the M&A Advisor, 2012 Turnaround of the Year for the Middle Market by the Turnaround Management Association, and Corp! Magazine’s Top Executive of the Year in 2009. He was recognized by Jennifer Granholm, former Michigan Governor and member of President Obama’s economic team, as financial services champion to businesses.

Kevin C. O’Malley is the senior vice president, publisher, and chief revenue officer of ELLE. Kevin joined ELLE in May 2011, upon its acquisition by Hearst from Lagardére SCA. Since then, the brand has experienced record-breaking ad revenue, both in its print magazine and online via ELLE.com. Kevin has also overseen the launch of several brand extensions and partnerships, including ELLE Weekly, ELLE Glassware and ELLE Dating.

Prior to his current position, Kevin was associate publisher at Rolling Stone, vice president/publisher of Wenner Media’s Men’s Journal, president of Emap Metro USA’s Sports Division, and vice president and later chief revenue officer for Esquire magazine.

During his Tenure at at Esquire, the magazine was named “Publishing Innovator of the Year”

by Publishing Executive Magazine in 2009, and in 2005, Kevin was named “Sales Executive of the Year” by Media Industry Newsletter. He resides in Rye, New York with his wife and four sons.

Gina O’Reilly is the chief operating officer of Nitro, overseeing the sales, marketing, customer service, and operations of the company. Gina has over 12 years of experience in the software industry. Prior to joining Nitro in 2008, she oversaw global sales and marketing at activePDF. Gina is a native of Ireland, born in Belfast and raised in Bailieborough, Co. Cavan. She attended Dublin City University and received a BA in international business and French and Spanish language, later earning an MBA from University of Phoenix. She immigrated to America in 2000, and is immensely proud of her Irishness. She still thinks of Ireland as “home” and notes her admiration for the “common sense that most Irish people inherently have.” Recently, Nitro has opened a subsidiary office in Dublin, a proud moment for the company and for Gina herself.

Gina is a member of the Irish Professional Network in San Francisco and the Irish Technology Leader Group. She lives in California.

SEAN O’SULLIVAN

EDWARD T. REILLY

JO ANN ROSS

Universal McCann

AMA

CBS Television Network

With 17 years experience at Universal McCann, Sean O’Sullivan has risen through the ranks to his current position as SVP Client Business Partner.

After leading the winning team at a young advertising professionals training conference in London during the summer of 1999, Sean joined the international planning department in New York in March of 2000 where he worked on global strategic planning for CPG clients and Pan Regional specific clients. In 2003 he started to add direct responsibilities for the U.S. A graduate of the University of Limerick and the Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland, Sean is a member of the UM Charity Council which supports Free the Children. Sean, whose parents both came from Effin, Co. Limerick, was born in the Bronx, New York but grew up in Killaloe, Co. Clare and used to play hurling for Clare on a team in New York. He believes that “being Irish instills in a person a belief that with hard work and perseverance any challenge can be overcome.”

Since 2001, Edward T. Reilly has been the 17th president and CEO of the American Management Association. AMA is the world’s leading not-forprofit membership-based management development, research and publishing organization. Ed previously served as president and CEO of Big Flower Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of integrated marketing and advertising services.

Ed holds a BA in business administration from St. Francis College and attended the Stanford Executive Program. He is the immediate past chairman of the USO World Headquarters Board of Governors, co-chairman of the USO Operation Enduring Care Campaign, fellow of the International Academy of Management, member of the U. S. Advisory Board of IESE Business School – University of Navarra, Barcelona, Spain and has served as a fellow and past chairman of the Royal Society of Arts in the U.S. A fourth-generation Irish American, he resides in Westport, CT. with his wife, Susan. Ed has roots in Cavan on his father’s side and Limerick on his mother’s side.

Jo Ann Ross is president, Network Sales, CBS Television Network. As the network’s chief sales executive, Jo Ann is responsible for all sales for CBS Entertainment, Sports, Daytime, News and Late Night. When she was elevated to the role in 2002, she had the added distinction of being the first woman to ever head up a network sales division. Under her leadership, the network has enjoyed record-breaking sales performances for the past eight years. She joined CBS in 1992 as vice president of Olympic Sales, in charge of network sales for the Lillehammer Winter Olympics in 1994 and the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998.

Jo Ann, whose Irish ancestors hail from County Longford, is a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead, N.Y., and American University in Washington, D.C. This October, Jo Ann was inducted into Broadcasting & Cable’s Hall of Fame, and she has also been one of The Hollywood Reporter’s “100 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment” for many years running. She and her husband, Dr. Michael Zelman, live in Manhattan.

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BUSINESS 100

WILBUR L. ROSS, JR.

G. BRINT RYAN

TIM RYAN

WL Ross & Co. / Invesco

Ryan, LLC

Pebble Beach Resorts

Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. is CEO and chairman of WL Ross & Co. LLC, and chairman of the investment committee of Invesco Mortgage Recovery Fund.

An industry leader in bankruptcy, restructuring and privatization services, he has been involved in some of the largest bankruptcies and out-of-court restructurings. He has assisted in restructuring more than $300 billion of corporate liabilities.

Wilbur was executive managing director of Rothschild Inc. for 24 years before acquiring that firm’s private equity partnerships in 2000. He holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard University and an AB from Yale University, which recognized him with the Yale Legends of Leadership award in 2009.

WL Ross & Co. is the largest private investor in Bank of Ireland. A fourth-generation Irish American through his mother, Agnes O’Neill, Wilbur was honored by The American Ireland Fund in 2011. He says, “Resiliency is a major Irish trait that is very important to me as an investor in distressed companies.” He has two daughters, Amanda and Jessica, and is married to Hilary Geary Ross, also an Irish American.

G. Brint Ryan is the founder, CEO, and chairman of the board of directors for Ryan, LLC, a Dallas-based multi-national leader in the tax services industry. Since Ryan’s acquisition of Thomson Reuters Property Tax Services last year, it has become the largest indirect tax practice in North America and currently employs the largest workforce in the industry, with more than 1,600 employees servicing clients in over 40 countries.

Born in west Texas, Brint is a seventh-generation Irish American whose ancestors emigrated from Co. Tipperary sometime before 1776 and fought in the Revolutionary War. This lineage is important to Brint, because it “provides [him] with a common link to generations of hard-working, risk-taking Irish that achieved amazing things.” He says he is lucky to have also “inherited some of these qualities from [his] Irish ancestors.”

Brint was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the board or regents at his alma mater, the University of North Texas, and received the Patriot Award for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve in 2010. He lives in Dallas with his wife, Amanda, and their five children.

Tim Ryan is the vice president of global business development for the Pebble Beach Resorts company. Tim joined the company in 1990 as director of sales, having previously worked with Scottsdale Princess Resort and Westin Hotels. He led the corporate hospitality sales programs for the 2000 and 2010 U.S Open Golf Championships, the annual PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the Callaway Golf Invitational and Concours d’Elegance. He is the former executive in residence for the California Polytechnic State University and currently sits on the advisory board for the Great Golf Resorts of the World.

Tim attended Susquehanna University, receiving a BS in business administration. He is a fourth-generation Irish American with family descending from Cork on his father’s side. Tim says he loves “the energy of the Irish” and their welcoming attitudes. He is the father of two children, Noah and Grace.

MICHAEL SHEEHAN

GREG SMITH

BRIAN W. STACK

Hill Holliday

The VIA Agency

CIE Tours International

Mike Sheehan is chairman of Hill Holliday, the 12th largest advertising agency in America. He served as CEO from 2003-2013.

Hill Holliday has an impressive catalogue of clients including Dunkin’ Donuts, Bank of America, Cadillac and Major League Baseball.

Mike began his career as a copywriter, winning the One Show Gold award and a Cannes Lion at just 25, and in 1996 was named Adweek’s National Creative Director of the Year.

He attended the United States Naval Academy and graduated from Saint Anselm College in 1982 with a BA in English. In 2011, Saint Anselm awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Currently, he serves on the boards of ChoiceStream, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston, Thayer Academy, and One Fund Boston, Inc. A second-generation Irish-American, Mike traces his ancestral roots to Castleisland, County Kerry on his father’s side and Glenfarne, County Leitrim on his mother’s.

He is also a member of The American Ireland Fund. He lives in Norwell, Massachusetts with his wife, Maureen, and two children.

Greg Smith is the chief creative officer of VIA, an award-winning advertising agency based in Portland, Maine. Since joining the company in 1999, Greg has worked with brands like Welch’s, Klondike, Samsung, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Perdue, Pepsi, and Sony, developing campaigns for print, tv, and online. Prior to joining VIA, Greg worked in the film industry in New York as an actor and then as a writer, director, and producer of independent films before shifting to the commercial industry. He is a graduate of Columbia University.

Greg is a second-generation Irish American whose grandparents emigrated from counties Kerry and Cork. When asked how he feels about his Irish heritage, Greg says he feels lucky to be part of a thriving community. But he also recognizes that there is “an ugly side of being Irish American.” He says, “growing up in the greater Boston area in the mid 1970s . . . it was very troubling to see all that I loved about being an Irish American on display in a negative way: the emotion overriding the rational; the confidence in who we are giving way to the fear of those we do not know; and the kindness in us giving into the violence.”

Brian W. Stack is managing director of CIE Tours International, one of the largest producers of tourists to Ireland, Scotland, and many other areas of Europe. 2013 marks the 82nd anniversary of CIE, and is also the company’s most successful year to date.

Prior to joining CIE, Brian worked with Aer Lingus, The Irish Tourist Board, and Ocean Reef Club in Florida. Brian has served as chairman of the United States Tour Operators Association, was president of the Society of Incentive Travel Executives, is vice chairman of the Irish American Cultural Institute and is president of the Ireland-U.S. Council for Commerce and Industry. His awards also include “Man of the Year” from the Incentive Travel Industry and “International Executive of the Year” by the World Congress on Marketing and Incentive Travel, in addition to previously being honored in the Top 100 Irish Americans by Irish America.

A resident of Rye, New York, Brian is married to Anne-Marie and has two grown children. He is a Dublin native.

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BUSINESS 100

ANNE SWEENEY

NEIL SWEENEY

TUCKER TOOLEY

Disney Media Networks

JUICE Mobile

Relativity Media

Anne Sweeney is co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of the DisneyABC Television Group. A leading industry figure, she has been named one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business by Fortune and one of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women by Forbes.

Anne is a recipient of the Cable Television Public Affairs Association’s President’s Award, the Golden Mike Award for Outstanding Contributions to Broadcasting by the Broadcasters Foundation of America, and the Matrix Award for television from New York Women in Communications, Inc. Anne was elected director of the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2001. In 2007, she was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame. She has received the Committee of 200’s Luminary Award, and in October of 2011 became the first female executive in history to receive MIPCOM’s Personality of the Year honor. Anne, who earned a BA from the College of New Rochelle and an EdM from Harvard, traces her roots to Meath, Kerry and Mayo.

Neil Sweeney is the president and CEO of JUICE Mobile, a mobile marketing and technology firm he founded in 2010. JUICE Mobile has been recognized as Canada’s leading independent mobile firm and was awarded Canada’s Most Promising Digital Media Company at the 2012 Digi Awards.

In 2011, the Digi Awards also named Neil Canada’s Top Digital Executive. This year, he was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in the Media and Entertainment category.

Born in Toronto, Neil has an MBA from the University of Edinburgh. At 12, he worked at a local water park with his cousin, an experience that developed his interest in business and appreciation for working with family.

“Irish heritage to me means supporting others, building bonds and being aggressive in the business world, says Neil, who is fifth-generation. Neil has excelled in the technology, media and entertainment industries for more than 15 years. He has also held senior positions with top publicly traded media companies in Canada such as CTV, Standard Broadcasting, CanWest Media, as well as venturebacked start-ups.

Tucker Tooley is the President of Relativity Media. He oversees the company’s day-to-day operations, business divisions, personnel, and its theatrical film slate. Since Tooley joined the company in 2007, the film division has earned numerous Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, and three of its releases have opened at No. 1 at the box office. Before joining Relativity, Tooley served as CEO of Tooley Productions. In 1999, he established Newman/Tooley Films, with thenproducing partner Vincent Newman. Tooley began his film career as a creative executive at Interlight Pictures. He earned a B.A. at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“The Irish are some of the best story tellers in the world,” Tucker says. “Being of Irish heritage and in the entertainment business, I feel a sense of responsibility to tell stories that will enlighten and endure the test of time.”

Tucker is a fifth-generation Irish American with roots in Carrignamuck Knockamara, County Wicklow. He and his wife, Tessa, welcomed their first child last November.

RUAIRI TWOMEY

DAVID J. WALSH

ADMIRAL PATRICK WALSH

Diageo Guinness USA

Amalgamated Family of Companies

Academic Partnerships, LLC

Cork City native Ruairi Twomey is vice president of marketing and innovation for the United States arm of Diageo Guinness, a role he has held since 2012. Ruairi has been with the Guinness company since starting out at the famed St. James Gate Brewery 13 years ago. In 2003, he became the marketing director for Guinness Canada and moved to Toronto. From there he progressed to Guinness Nigeria in Lagos, where he served as the vice president of marketing, until making the move to the New York City-based U.S. branch.

Ruairi says it has always meant a lot to him to be Irish throughout his travels and various global positions because he represents a portfolio that includes Irish brands – Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s and Kilkenny – in addition to other famous trademarks, such as Smirnoff Ice, Red Stripe and Parrot Bay. He credits his early days working at Dunnes Stores in Ireland with teaching him the work ethic and business ethos he’s carried with him across three continents.

78 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

David J. Walsh is president and CEO of the Amalgamated Family of Companies and is the CEO of Alico Services Corporation. Since taking on these leadership positions, David has introduced significant restructuring and improved both the infrastructure of Amalgamated and its national recognition and reach.

Born and raised in an Irish enclave in Iowa, he holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin, master’s degrees from both Alaska Pacific University and Cornell, and a BA from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He is currently on the boards of the Life Insurance Council of New York, the Insurance Federation of New York, Medicare Rights Center Organization, the Sidney Hillman Foundation and New York City Technical College. He is also a member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Northern Ireland Children’s Exchange.

Of his Irish heritage, David says “I am proud of our relentless intellectual curiosity, passion and perseverance, out music, literature, and culture.”

Patrick Walsh is a retired career Navy pilot and commander and is the current president of strategic programs of the Dallas-based company Academic Partnerships. Within the last year, he has led the expansion of the company to bring more than 40 public and not-for-profit private university degree programs online. Important for Patrick, this means that 110 undergraduate and graduate degrees are now available to members of the active duty military.

In 2012, Patrick retired from his position as the 59th Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, after 35 years in service. In this last position, he led the U.S. military response to the 2011 earthquake in Japan, after which he was awarded the Grand Cordon – Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government. Prior to his command positions, Patrick was a Navy pilot with Carrier Air Wing One and flew with the Blue Angels. Patrick, whose ancestors come from Cork, values his Irish heritage as a source of shared pride with his wife, Andy, and their two children, Jennifer and Matthew.

IRISH AMERICA would like to extend a special thank you to 2013 Business 100 sponsor

ICON PLC and all of our annual sponsors

Mutual of America Guinness The Coca-Cola Company House of Waterford Crystal Tourism Ireland Quinnipiac University UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School The American Ireland Fund Irish Department of Foreign Affairs ConnectIreland CIE Tours International House of Waterford Crystal 1-800-Flowers.com

Go raibh mile maith agaibh

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William Mulholland

He brought water to a thirsty land

By Edythe Preet n January 24, 1848 a handful of shiny metal found in the water channel below John Sutter’s lumber mill in Northern California launched the first world-class Gold Rush. Within seven years, the population of San Francisco swelled from 200 to more than 50,000.

More secure work than prospecting could be found on the vast cattle ranches of the original Spanish land grants, and many would-be prospectors from Central and South America ventured no further north than the Pueblo of Los Angeles.

It is estimated that more than 300,000 prospectors, merchants, and immigrants from around the world sought quick

O

80 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

wealth on America’s West Coast during the California Gold Rush years. In 1876, the completion of a transcontinental railroad to Los Angeles changed Southern California forever.

Between 1876 and 1900, the population of Los Angeles mushroomed from 7,500 to 102,500. Real estate developers and city fathers (often one and the same) were determined to build Los Angeles into the West’s most important metropolis. But the upsurge in residents and industry created a massive problem. The regional water supply could not support further municipal growth. The genius who provided the solution was William Mulholland.

Born on September 11, 1855 in

Belfast, County Antrim, Mulholland ran away from home at age 15 and joined the British Merchant Navy. After several years at sea, and inspired by tales of the California Gold Rush, he boarded a ship bound for San Francisco. Shortly after arriving, he set out on horseback to explore California, reaching Los Angeles in 1877. Years later he wrote about his first sight of the city: “Los Angeles was a place after my own heart. The people were hospitable. . . . The Los Angeles River was a beautiful, limpid little stream with willows on its banks. . . . It was so attractive to me that it at once became something about which my whole scheme of life was woven.”

At the time, water flowed from the

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river to a large holding pool in the city via open ditches called zanjas, and men who tended them were called zanjeros.

Mulholland’s first job in Los Angeles was as a well digger. After completing his day’s work, from books borrowed or purchased with part of his meager income he studied mathematics, hydraulics, engineering and geology, and for recreation he read classic literature, always seeking to further his knowledge of science and the arts.

One year later, impressed by Mulholland’s performance, Fred Eaton, superintendent of the newly formed Los Angeles City Water Company, hired him as a zanjero on the Zanja Madre (the main water conduit) and in 1880 he was assigned the task of overseeing the installation of Los Angeles’s first iron water pipeline. When Eaton rose to the post of City Engineer, Mulholland became superintendent of the LACWC. The working relationship that had developed between the two men would leave its mark on Los Angeles history, and the history of engineering itself.

In 1898, Fred Eaton ran for mayor on a platform of establishing a new municipal water system and was elected to a two-year term. During his administration, he created the Los Angeles Water Department and appointed Mulholland

LEFT: William

as superintendent and Chief Mulholland at the enormous sum that today Engineer. While in that post, he dedication of the would equal more than half a became the first American Mulholland Dam billion dollars. and Hollywood engineer to construct a dam uti- Reservoir.

Undaunted, the two men lizing hydraulic sliding gates to ABOVE: The started working on their garcontrol water flow. Built at Los Second Los gantuan task. Eaton, a land Aqueduct Angeles’s Silver Lake Res- Angeles speculator and real estate Cascades near ervoir in 1906, it served for Sylmar, Los developer at heart, began buyalmost 70 years. Government Angeles. ing up property in the Owens engineers adopted the method OPPOSITE PAGE: Valley. He gave the impression Mulholland surin building Gatun Dam in the veying land in that he was working on a pubPanama Canal Zone. lic irrigation project for the California.

Also during his term as U.S. Reclamation Service. mayor, Eaton launched an Local residents were furious extensive study of Southern when they discovered he was California’s water supply and deduced buying land and water rights for Los that Owens River, which is fed by the Angeles. The tracts over which the aqueannual snows of the lofty Eastern Sierra duct would actually run he eventually mountain range, would be the best future sold to the city for a pittance; the rest he source of water for Los Angeles. In 1904 planned to develop.

Eaton and Mulholland inspected the After securing the land and water Owens Valley first hand, and Mulholland rights, the Board of Water Commissioners agreed that the plan was feasible. needed to obtain funding from Los A few immense hurdles stood in the Angeles residents, and legal rights from way of achieving that goal. First: the the federal government, to construct Owens River Valley lay 250 miles to the the aqueduct. A bond measure to raise north of Los Angeles and the water the needed construction funds was would have to be conducted via a 233placed on the Los Angeles voting ballot mile aqueduct, tunnels and siphons over and passed by a 10 to 1 margin. On two mountain ranges. Second: the land June 25, 1906, after heated debate over which the aqueduct would pass was among California Congressmen in the all privately owned. And third: the projHouse of Representatives, President ect cost was calculated at $23 million, an Theodore Roosevelt signed into law a DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 IRISH AMERICA 81

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congressional bill granting Los Angeles the rights to Owens River water.

The actual construction of the aqueduct was left entirely to Mulholland, who was installed as Chief Engineer of the Bureau of Los Angeles Aqueduct. Five times, Mulholland personally traveled and inspected every piece of land purchased by the city and every foot of the proposed waterway’s route. Five times, he climbed the mountain peaks over which it would have to pass. After four years of surveying, planning, designing, fundraising and political maneuvering, construction of the aqueduct began in 1908.

ABOVE: A group of men survey Mulholland drive. Henry Chandler is third from the right, and William Mulholland is far right. LEFT: The Hollywood Reservoir, 1928.

The most difficult part of the aqueduct’s construction was tunneling. There were 142 tunnels, totaling 43 miles in length, that had to be dug. The Elizabeth Tunnel was the longest, with a length of over five miles. In the first 11 months of work, 22 miles of tunnel were driven.

The Elizabeth Tunnel set the world record for hard rock tunnel driving: 604 feet in one month. The Board of Engineers had estimated it would take five years to finish the five-mile tunnel.

The task came in 20 months ahead of schedule.

Men came from all over the world to work on the aqueduct’s construction.

Mulholland had hoped to use newly 82 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

invented gasoline-powered tractors for the work, but the terrain proved too tough for the early machines. Instead, 52-mule team wagons transported mammoth 30-ton sections of steel pipe along sun-baked desert trails to the job sites.

Land covering 4,300 acres of limestone formations and clay deposits near the Mojave Desert was purchased, and a cement mill capable of producing the necessary millions of tons of cement was constructed. Two hydroelectric plants were built to provide electric power.

The aqueduct’s most challenging length was the completely gravity-powered 119,795-foot-long Jawbone Canyon Division in which water is conveyed via

pressure developed in the down slope to force the water through the up slope. The combination of canal, tunnel and 15,000 tons of steel siphons and flumes begins at an elevation of 3,320 feet, descends 1,000 feet to the canyon floor, and rises to the 3,171-foot elevation of the opposite canyon wall. It took 15 months to construct and was completely designed by William Mulholland himself.

It took five years, five thousand men, and six thousand mules to build the aqueduct. To Mulholland’s credit, the most difficult engineering project undertaken by any American to that time was completed on schedule and within budget. The Los Angeles Aqueduct remains to this day one of the modern world’s greatest engineering triumphs.

On November 5, 1913 more than 30,000 Los Angeles residents attended a spectacular civic ceremony to view the first water from the Owens Valley complete its journey to Los Angeles. William Mulholland presided and called out for the water gate to be opened with one of the most famous, and shortest, speeches in Los Angeles history: “There it is, take it!”

After the opening of the aqueduct, during the years that came to be known as the California Water Wars, irate residents of the Owens Valley campaigned against

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its effect on their environment and livelihoods. Farmers and ranchers protested that the water needed for their crops and herds was being diverted. Landholders across the valley complained that they had been swindled out of their property’s true value. At the height of the dispute, parts of the aqueduct system were sabotaged and even dynamited. In 1974, Roman Polanski’s film noir classic, Chinatown, presented a riveting, but highly fictionalized, version of the political intrigue that brought water to Los Angeles and made Southern California urbanization possible.

By 1923, the influx of population to Los Angeles had exceeded even the most optimistic estimates. Foreseeing the need for yet another water supply source, Mulholland, then 68 years of age, personally initiated the Department of Water and Power’s six-year survey of 50,000 square miles of desert that resulted in the route ultimately selected for the Colorado River Aqueduct that now serves more than 130 communities in six Southern California counties.

William Mulholland had boundless confidence in the destiny of Los Angeles and its neighboring communities, but in 1928 his career took a tragic turn. On March 12th, the St. Francis Dam, one of several dams built to increase storage of Owens River water, collapsed, sending 12 billion gallons of water into the Santa Clara Valley, north of Los Angeles. The flood claimed more than 400 lives. The Coroner’s Jury investigating the failure found that the collapse was primarily caused by the ancient landslide material on which the eastern abutment of the dam was built. Mulholland was cleared of any charges, since the instability of the rock formations could never have been detected by geologists of the 1920s. Nevertheless, Mulholland took responsibility, saying: “If there is an error of human judgment, I am the human.” Several months later he retired. His final years were lived in the shadow of the disaster.

William Mulholland remains a legendary and controversial figure in Southern California history. For the key role he played in the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, he has been called both a visionary and a villain. But no one can dispute the fact that the Irish immigrant’s engineering triumph was pivotal in enabling the small Pueblo of Los Angeles to become one of America’s IA largest and most important cities.

Mulholland Tributes William Mulholland was a self-educated man, but in 1914 the University of California at Berkeley bestowed on him an honorary doctorate degree.

The inscription on the diploma read,“Percussit saxa et duxit flumina ad terram sitientum” (He broke the rocks and brought the river to the thirsty land).

Mulholland Drive & Highway

M

ulholland Drive & Highway is a scenic road that runs 50 miles along the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains from the Hollywood Hills to the Pacific Ocean at the border of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Built during the 1920’s “to take Angelenos from the city to the ocean,” it was dedicated in 1928 to honor William Mulholland, the man who enabled Los Angeles to become a major American city by securing a water source for the future. Multimillion-dollar homes lie all along its sinuous length.

Breathtaking views of the San Fernando Valley can be seen from vantage points along its route.

Mulholland Drive & Highway is one of the most famous roads in Los Angeles, equaled only by Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards, and a “must-do” drive for anyone wishing to grasp the immensity of the metropolis William Mulholland helped build.

The William Mulholland Memorial Fountain

W

illiam Mulholland, the Irish immigrant who worked as a ditch tender and lived in a one-room shack when he first arrived in Los Angeles, died in 1935. On August 1, 1940 a memorial fountain was dedicated in his honor, just steps from the shack where he began his pursuit of self-education to become an engineer.

The memorial’s simplistic design typifies the honest, straightforward character of the beloved man whom everyone simply called “Chief.” Gently cascading jets of water at varying heights are illuminated at night in a full color spectrum. A five-ton pink granite boulder symbolizing Mulholland’s rugged character stands at the memorial approach. It was brought down from the hills where Mulholland saw it while the Los Angeles Aqueduct was under construction and commented on its color. A memorial plaque on the boulder reads: “To William Mulholland (1855-1935): A Penniless Irish Immigrant Boy who Rose by the Force of his Industry, Intelligence, Integrity and Intrepidity to be a Sturdy American Citizen, a Self-Educated Engineering Genius, a Whole-Hearted Humanitarian, the Father of this City’s Water System, and the Builder of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. This Memorial is Gratefully Dedicated to those who are the Recipients of His Unselfish Bounty and the Beneficiaries of His Prophetic Vision.”

The Mulholland Fountain is located at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Los Feliz Blvd. In 1976 it was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument in the City of Los Angeles.

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Reflecting on The

A hundred years ago, The Lock-Out caused great turmoil in Dublin. It marked the beginnings of an organized labor movement in Ireland, and had a huge influence on the emerging Irish state.

By Sharon Ni Chonchuir

I

t’s a time for reflection in Ireland. A time to look at events that formed the foundation of our republic 100 years ago, and how the impact of those events continues to reverberate today.

I am writing this in September 2013, a full century after W.B. Yeats wrote the poem “September 1913,” criticizing the Irish fumbling in their greasy tills, and just after a trip to Dublin where I found out about the different events organized to commemorate the 1913 Lock-Out. The dispute, the most severe in Ireland’s industrial history, lasted from August 26, 1913, to January, 18, 1914, and involved some 20,000 workers and 300 employers.

In 1911, Dublin was reported to have the worst housing conditions in the United Kingdom, with 26,000 families living in inner-city tenements and 20,000 of these families living in just one room.

Disease was rampant, particularly tuberculosis (TB), which caused many deaths.

84 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

The overcrowding of the tenements followed the Great Starvation of 184550, when hundreds of thousands moved from rural areas to Dublin, and by the early 1900s many of these unskilled workers lived in poverty in tenement slums.

These unskilled workers had to endure precarious working conditions, too. They were ruthlessly exploited by employers who paid them low wages and gave them little, if any, job security. Few were guaranteed work every day. Instead, laborers were expected to queue for work every morning in the hope that they would be hired for that day.

Into this mix came James Larkin. A Liverpudlian of Irish descent, he founded the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) in 1909, with the aim of improving working conditions for unskilled workers.

Thousands joined the union. But the employers, under the leadership of

William Martin Murphy, the owner of the Irish Independent and controller of the Dublin Tramways Company, tried to smother the growing movement before it took root.

Murphy, who ironically was known as a fair employer, was vehemently opposed to trade unions, and to Larkin in particular. He regarded the Union leader as a dangerous revolutionary.

On August 15, 1913 Murphy dismissed forty workers he suspected of ITGWU membership, followed by another 300 over the next week.

Other employers in Murphy’s group followed suit, replacing the workers with scab labor from Britain and other parts of Ireland.

Guinness was one of the few companies not to lock out its workforce. It trod a fine line between both groups. Four hundred of its staff were ITGWU members, and it had a working relationship with the union. It did not join Murphy’s

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LEFT: The front page of the Irish Independent from September 1, 1913. BELOW LEFT: A Trade Union handbill. OPPOSITE PAGE: Hungry crowds wait on the docks for food ships.

to drift back to work and signed pledges not to join the union. To an extent, the employers had proved victorious.

But while the dispute did not achieve its immediate aims, it did mark a watershed in Irish social history. The principle of workers’ solidarity was born and Ireland’s trade unions grew from these beginnings.

O Oisin Kelly’s statue of Jim Larkin, on O’Connell Street in Dublin

group but did donate £500 to the employers’ fund.

It was not an easy time for the workers and their families, to put it mildly. They had to rely on food parcels and strike pay donated by union members in the UK. Ships would set sail from ports in Britain, full of food destined to be handed out to strikers when they docked in the Liffey.

On Sunday August 31, the police attacked a crowd that had gathered to hear Larkin speak on O’Connell Street. The meeting had been banned but the workers had defied the ban. Scores were injured

and three were killed on a day that became known as “Bloody Sunday.”

With little or no income, the workers had to pawn most of their belongings, and at one point there was a plan to send their children to England, where they would be looked after by union members instead of suffering near starvation and ill health as a result of the strike in Dublin.

The Catholic Church, which opposed Larkin on the grounds that he was a socialist revolutionary, intervened because they feared what would happen to the children in “godless England.” On the day the children were to board ship, members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians lined the streets and physically prevented them from leaving the country.

By January 1914, much of the strikers’ momentum was gone. Larkin’s call for a sympathetic strike in Britain was turned down. The weather was cold and after months of suffering, some workers started

ne hundred years later, the LockOut is being commemorated in various ways.

A tenement house on Dublin’s Henrietta Street was refurbished to look as it would have at the time. A theatrical group staged re-enactments of life as it would have been lived there when 835 people lived in the 15 houses on the street.

A food ship once again sailed up the Liffey. There was even an official state commemoration complete with re-enactments of riots.

The Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) organized a permanent commemoration of its own. It commissioned a tapestry work that was created by two of Ireland’s leading artists with the help of hundreds of volunteers.

Pádraig Yeates of SIPTU spearheaded the project. “I thought it would be an ideal way of marking the anniversary,” he says.

“An artistic commemoration that included people from all sectors of society seemed appropriate to mark an event that had such an influence on the whole of society.”

Yeates brought the National College of Art and Design on board and two of Ireland’s best-known artists, Cathy Henderson and Robert Ballagh, were asked to collaborate on the project.

Together, they decided to create a tapestry in the style of an adult graphic novel – “a political comic strip,” as Henderson describes it.

What to depict in these strips was difficult. “It was a challenge,” says Ballagh.

“Pádraig Yeates had 100 key moments but that was far too many for any kind of visual representation.”

These were reduced to 40 and then Cathy and Robert set to work on the narrative, deciding on the words first and then the images. To create the panels, they enlisted the help of people experienced in sewing and embroidery – the Irish Embroidery Guild and the Irish Patchwork Society.

More and more people got involved as word spread about the project. There were students from four Dublin schools, members of the Finglas Art Squad community DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 IRISH AMERICA 85

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attention to that period in Irish history,” says Ballagh. “So many aspects are still relevant today.

Social justice is still important in our modern lives, what with recession and cutbacks.”

Henderson shares her hopes for the future of the work. “I want it to interest more young people in the history of Irish workers,” she says. “Working conditions are so much more advanced now, but the things we take for granted now didn’t come from nowhere.

People went through an awful lot to achieve what we have today.”

TOP: Re-enactors gathered in Dublin to mark the anniversary of the Lock-Out. RIGHT: Cathy Henderson explains the tapestry panels. FAR RIGHT: President Michael D. Higgins speaks at the opening of the exhibition. BELOW: One of the tapestry panels in progress.

arts project, inmates from Limerick and Mountjoy Prisons, and individuals from right across society.

“It was a totally inclusive project,” says Yeates. “And what I liked was that many of these people had been making this sort of work for years, but it had never been seen outside their homes.

Their sewing and embroidery was hidden in a drawer. It was great to give them a chance to showcase their skills.”

Henderson liked how a special attempt was made to involve men in the project.

“We didn’t want this historical event, which mostly concerned men, to be commemorated mostly by women,” she says.

Ballagh was impressed by the project’s sheer collaborative range. “There were more than 300 volunteers involved by the time we finished,” he says. “This was an extraordinary range of people, which was only fitting as the Lock-Out was a struggle of ordinary people coming together to fight for their rights.”

Together, they created 30 panels, each measuring two-and-a-half-feet by twofeet and depicting key moments from the seven months of the Lock-Out. There are 86 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

riot scenes showing police attacking strikers, and panels that show hot food being served to hungry strikers and their families in Liberty Hall, and ships full of food docking in the Liffey. There’s even one panel that shows the Ancient Order of Hibernians preventing the children from leaving Dublin for England.

“I hope [the tapestry] draws people’s

The tapestry is currently on display in Collins Barracks in the National Museum of Ireland and will be in the care of the National College of Art and Design after that. The hope is that it will tour the country, inspiring future generations with its representation of Ireland’s often fraught and fractious, but always inspiring, past.

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PHOTO BY JACQUES LOWE

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A Thousand Days of Grace As we mark the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination Michael Quinlin reflects on Kennedy’s vision, his desire for a united Ireland, his love of poetry, and what his presidency meant to Irish Boston.

P

PHOTO BY JACQUES LOWE

resident Kennedy’s thousand days in office marked an epoch in the Boston Irish story.

One man stepping forth from a marginalized community that had struggled mightily for so many generations, facing hostility and surviving on the edge of society, driven to success by fear of hunger and anger at prejudice, determined to right the wrongs for the sake of the children and future generations. JFK was the future generation that his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents had daydreamed about as they were toiling in America, saving their pennies, getting stronger, wiser, and warier. He may have represented the hopes and dreams of the world, and of a nation, but in essence JFK represented the pinnacle of immigrant dreams for millions of Irish around the world.

Kennedy’s optimism and resolve was emblematic of the American mind of the twentieth century, but he also brought a new level of sophistication to public life.

Louis M. Lyons wrote, “The elevation of the tone of the national life may be John Kennedy’s most enduring contribution to his country.” Along with his beautiful and stylish wife, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, JFK brought a savoir faire to the White House and created a magical mood that later moved Jacqueline to use the word Camelot to refer to her husband’s presidency. Both the president and his wife were lovers of the arts, and they surrounded themselves with singers, poets, dramatists, artists, and dancers. In a welldeserved nod to the power of poetry, Kennedy invited New England poet Robert Frost to read at his inauguration.

Frost later told Kennedy, “You’re something of Irish and something of Harvard.

Let me advise you, be more Irish than Harvard.”

On October 26, 1963, Kennedy gave a compelling address at Amherst College called “On Poetry and National Power,” in which he laid out a vision of American life to which the Irish, the politician, and the poet could relate.

“When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limita-

tions. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as a touchstone for our judgment. . . . I look forward to a great future for America – a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral strength, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose. I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty. . . . And I look forward to an America which commands respect

throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well.”

Kennedy had shown more than a casual interest in Ireland, according to Arthur Mitchell, whose book JFK and His Irish Heritage traces the president’s youthful interests. Kennedy made the first of his six trips to Ireland in 1939, and in 1945 had the opportunity to meet Eamon de Valera, forging a friendship that lasted through Kennedy’s life. Kennedy had interviewed de Valera during that trip and submitted a thoughtful piece titled “De Valera Aims to Unite Ireland” to the New York Journal American in July 1945. He wrote, “De Valera is fighting the same relentless bat-

tle fought in the field during the Uprising of 1916, in the War of Independence and later in the [Irish] Civil War. He feels everything Ireland has gained has been given grudgingly and at the end of a long and bitter struggle. Always, it has been too little too late.” When de Valera visited Boston in 1948 to promote Irish unification, Kennedy met him at Logan Airport, even though his flight arrived after midnight. Kennedy also cosigned a bill sponsored by Rhode Island Congressman John E. Fogarty in 1951 calling for Irish unification, and he supported a similar Senate resolution.

A high point of the president’s time in office was his official visit to Ireland in June 1963. It captured the world’s imagination and shone a spotlight on the new Republic of Ireland. The visit was a triumphant, emotionally charged promenade in which the entire population of Ireland seemed to participate. Kennedy’s motorcade passed regally through the streets of Dublin, Cork, and Galway as thousands of proud Irish cheered him with tears of joy in their eyes, and the twin flags of Ireland and the United States waved madly for him. He visited the modest town of New Ross, Wexford, which twenty-five-yearold Patrick Kennedy had left in 1848 on a ship bound for Boston. On June 29, 1963, in Limerick, Ireland, Kennedy told the crowds of cheering Irish, “This is not the land of my birth, but it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection, and I will certainly come back in the springtime.” It was a sentiment wrought with love, promise, friendship, and possibility, and it was almost unbearable to recall when the president was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

Having followed the president’s visit to Ireland with immense pride, reveling in how he had turned the world’s attention to their small island off the coast of Europe, the Boston Irish community was stunned by the tragedy. They knew that he had grown up in a different society, one of privilege and wealth. But they considered him to be one of their own. To that postwar generation in particular, John F. Kennedy would always be one of them.

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hortly after his death the Kennedy family took up the task of creating a presidential library and formed a committee in 1964 to raise funds for the project: An Irish American Committee for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Fund in Boston, led by Cornelius O’Connor, Humphrey Mahoney and Michael Cummings. Its motto was “Modest Donations by Many Rather Than Large Endowments of a Wealthy Few.” As they had done for generations, the Boston Irish envisioned that the library would be built by the small cash donations of thousands of ordinary believers, the same way they had built their churches, parish schools, and colleges. The committee held a fundraiser at the New State Ballroom on Massachusetts Avenue on May 17, 1964, and proudly donated $6,550.20 to the Kennedy Library Fund.

The family had selected Harvard Square in Cambridge as an ideal site for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, but numerous delays occurred in securing the land because of “bureaucratic red tape and political infighting.” The Library Committee looked at other possible sites, including Hyannis and the Charlestown Navy Yard. Finally, in 1975 the committee formed an alliance with city and state leaders to select a parcel of land at Columbia Point in Dorchester, home of the University of Massachusetts on nine acres of land and three acres of mud flat, overlooking Boston Gabby Harbor as well as Boston’s Giffords, skyline. State Senator Joseph recipient of 2013 B. Walsh of Dorchester intro- the Profile in duced legislation for the land Courage transfer, and in August 1976, award, with Governor Michael Dukakis Caroline Kennedy signed a bill permitting construction of the library.

Boston Globe reporter Robert Campbell described the design by architect I. M. Pei: “The Kennedy Library is lonely as a lighthouse or a boat. . . . It was Pei who chose this lonely site . . . it’s a place you see from afar, a place you sense yourself journeying toward.”

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum was formally dedicated on October 20, 1979, before seven thousand people. The event was described as “a sedate ceremony . . . sandwiched by a kind of affectionate hobnobbing and backslapping that characterized the JFK era. With the same emotional mix that

S

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JFK Library and Museum he John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at Columbia Point in Boston is the official library of the nation’s thirty-fifth president.The president’s thousand days in office are recreated in the exhibits revealing the legacy of Kennedy’s short but historically significant administration.The JFK Library continues to offer insight about the nation’s first Irish-Catholic president and also about his IrishAmerican background. A significant companion of the Library is the Kennedy Library Foundation, led by Caroline Kennedy and headed by Thomas McNaught, which keeps the spirit of President Kennedy alive with engaging lectures and forums, a Profiles in Courage Award, given to public servants who demonstrate courage in their work and lives, and a New Frontier Award, given to a person under forty whose public service exemplifies the spirit of John F. Kennedy.

The JFK Library & Museum is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. For more information, call 617-514-1600 or visit the web site www.jfklibrary.org.

T

accompanies a jazzman’s funeral, the sobriety seemed only a loud whistle away from a friendly touch football game on the library’s landscaped grounds.”

Guest speaker President Jimmy Carter said: President Kennedy understood the past and respected its shaping of the future.

[He] entered the White House convinced that racial and religious discrimination was morally indefensible. He never failed

to uphold liberty and condemn tyranny. . . . The essence of President Kennedy’s message – the appeal for unselfish dedication to the common good – is more urgent than ever.

The podium that day was crowded with President Kennedy’s loved ones: former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and her children John Jr. and Caroline; his brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, cousins and in-laws. Any of them could have glanced out at Boston Harbor and settled their gaze on Deer Island, the last island separating the United States from Ireland. This is where their ancestors – the Kennedys, Fitzgeralds, Murphys, and Coxes—would have been stopped at the quarantine station before they were allowed to enter Boston, where history IA could then take its course.

From Irish Boston: A Lively Look at Boston’s Colorful Irish Past, 2nd edition, by Michael Quinlin. Published in October, 2013

by Globe Pequot Press

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Icons Share Their

Memories of a Tragedy An excerpt from Seven Seconds, Holly Millea’s best-selling e-book in which celebrities share where they were and what they were doing when they heard JFK was shot RYAN O’NEAL (22 years old): I had a little baby in my arms and I was going to the unemployment office in my car – it was in the Valley in Northridge [Los Angeles]. There were these small transistor radios that had just come out and people had them to their ears and everyone said, “He’s dead! He’s dead!

They’ve shot the President!” I was holding Tatum, it was just the two of us, and I had her in a carry thing, back then they didn’t even have straps. I was of draft age – 22 – and when Kennedy was made President in 1960, he made a rule that if you had a child, you were not the first to go to Vietnam. When my baby [Tatum] was born that moved me from A1 to A4. And three weeks later Kennedy was shot. Johnson took over and they revoked the rule, but I had already slipped through. Had I not, I’m sure I would have been sent off to Vietnam.

JULIAN FELLOWES

(14):

I was at school at Appleforth College in Yorkshire, which is a Catholic boarding school. And I remember our lessons ended at 7:30 at night. And I had to walk up a hill because I was in a house called St. Bede’s, at the top of quite a steep hill.

And so I was walking up the path with some other boys and suddenly we heard this shout, and a guy who was in my year called Richard Bradshaw suddenly ran towards us and said, “Kennedy’s been shot! Kennedy’s been shot!”

I remember that whole moment actually, though I suppose that is a testimony to the shock that we felt when we heard it. And remember, this was a Catholic school, and they were very, very keen on Jack Kennedy because there was a Catholic president of the United States, so clearly everything was now headed for the better. [Chuckles]. So they had an almost familiar connection with him, although of course they didn’t know him. But we used to pray for him and all that sort of thing.

There was this extraordinary, unbelievable shock that rippled up and down every corridor, and indeed the monks and the teachers as much as the boys – everyone was in a complete daze.

The next day I don’t think anyone did anything much. And then the rest of that term until Christmas was entirely dominated by his death. We were allowed to watch things on television that we normally weren’t and listen to the news on the radio. And of course we all rang our parents and they were shocked as well. So there

was a sense of the whole country being in the grip of astonished horror.

There are only four public figures I can tell you exactly where I was hearing the news: Princess Grace, Marilyn Monroe, the Princess of Wales and Kennedy. I mean even Elvis, I can’t quite remember where I was when I heard the news Elvis was dead.

And he, God knows, was a big enough figure in my youth.

Young death is the tragedy that resonates.

In those days during the Kennedy presidency, it was also just when the world was finally waking up after postwar austerity.

Suddenly fashion and music and all sorts of things took a leap forward and somehow, Kennedy in the White House, who was young and healthy and handsome and looked as if he had the world on a string; and his wife who was beautiful and always wearing the latest fashions and setting trends more or less every time she opened her mouth – they seemed so glamorous a couple.

They had more or less taken over from the Prince and Princess of Monaco, who had dominated those sorts of headlines at the end of the fifties. And they had become these icons, these gods. And the whole thing of Camelot, there was that musical Camelot. They seemed to represent a new Camelot that was governing America.

Looking across from rather war battered Europe, where rationing had only ended ten years before, here was this golden country across the sea with this golden couple ruling it. And I suppose we did sort of take them into our hearts. We loved them really.

JAMES PATTERSON

(16):

It’s strange, as you get older, a lot of things fade. It’s interesting how a couple of things happen to you that don’t fade, they stay very much alive in your mind.

You hope you recall them correctly.

I believe I was a sophomore in high school. And I believe we learned in class that the president had been shot. We had a big basketball game that night and that was immediately canceled.

This was a Catholic high school – St. Patrick’s High School in Newburgh, New York – so I was taught by brothers. And the brothers didn’t show a lot of emotion, but the brother who came in was crying which was kind of unheard of. And then the high school, within an hour or so, they had a special mass. They called everyone over to chapel.

And I think for a lot of us it was kind of dreamlike, we were probably in shock a bit. And then in our house at least, TV was really rationed in those days – you might get to watch half an hour a day or something like that. That day and the next we were all glued to the television. I’m not sure this is accurate, but I DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 IRISH AMERICA 91

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think we actually saw Oswald get shot by Ruby live on TV. I’m not 100% on that. But I think we were watching when it happened.

In those days there were a lot of comfortable illusions that we lived under, you know, the Father Knows Best, Ozzie and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver . . . all that stuff. And I think, although we didn’t realize it then, it was kind of the beginning of the end of the age of innocence for a lot of us. Because then came the assassination of Dr. King, then Bobby Kennedy was shot, then Vietnam, then Watergate, which was kind of the nail in the coffin in terms of the way a lot of us felt about this country and our own sense of what reality was or wasn’t.

The fact that he was Catholic, it didn’t filter in people’s minds when he was shot, we didn’t think it had anything to do with him being Catholic. We liked the idea that whatever the bias had been about a Catholic, that that had been eliminated – that was a good thing, like any bias that’s eliminated. That was very positive for us.

But the attachment [we felt] had less to do with the fact that he was a Catholic than just the fact that he was very charismatic and he was the first real television president. That’s probably one of the reasons that he won the election—and one of the reasons he got the nomination over LBJ. He was just so much better on television.

Seven Seconds

Holly Millea talks about her new book, a collection of memories of the JFK Assassination.

When did you start this project and why did you want to do it?

When I was interviewing Warren Beatty for Premiere in 2007, he recalled his early attraction to politics and John Kennedy being a big part of that. It was startling the way his answer to the obvious question so casually encompassed future icons – Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, producer Charlie Feldman. When my editor and friends asked how the interview went, the first thing I said was, “You’ll never guess who he was with and what he was doing when Kennedy was shot...” I realized that if that was my first response to “How was Warren Beatty?” I should keep asking that question.

What makes your book different from all the other books on Kennedy?

For starters, it’s the personal memories of over 50 icons telling you about a tragic moment in their lives that, while universal, is inherently intimate. Beyond that, each of their experiences sheds a unique light on different aspects of the culture at the time – sex, religion, civil rights, music, fashion, politics...

What surprised you in terms of the stories you got from people?

I was only two when Kennedy was shot. As I grew, so did the Kennedy myth.

I took it for granted that he was this

beloved man and heroic figure – that’s all I’d ever heard because I was raised Catholic. So I was really surprised by some of the stories, like the great artist Chuck Close recalling a group of Republican law students at Yale “drinking a toast to the death of JFK.” Or director Paul Schrader’s memory of Kennedy being elected and his mother saying, “The first thing he will do as President is go to Rome and kiss the Pope’s ring,” and the way she wept when Kennedy was killed.

There’s a lot of dark humor in some of the stories, which was really surprising. You have to read crime novelist James Ellroy’s recollection! It is dark and winding and visceral and I dare say entertaining.

Who was the most important person you interviewed?

Each is important in their own way because they touched on something different. Barbra Streisand’s story reminds us of how material things become immaterial in times of tragedy; Meryl Streep brings up the bomb; Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft share stories of their mom Judy Garland’s friendship with Kennedy; playwright Tom Stoppard speaks so beautifully to our need for human connection.

But I must say having Nora Ephron in the book means the most to me personally. I’d interviewed her a lot over the years, and just loved her. Still do! It’s bittersweet to have her recollection of the way

her day played out. It’s hilarious – total comedic chaos. And the way she tells it is pure Nora. I read it and hear her voice so clearly. What a gift!

Why, 50 years later, are we still fascinated by JFK and the Kennedy family?

The combination of beauty and wealth and tragedy has a lot to do with it. And the fact that many members of the family have turned their gaze and used their power to help the less fortunate. They are truly catholic Catholics. And then there’s the dream of what could have been – what the world would be like had JFK and Robert Kennedy lived. You can only imagine.

Holly Millea is a longtime journalist and award-winning columnist for Elle magazine.

Seven Seconds e-book (Byliner, $1.99) is available as a Kindle Single at Amazon, a Quick Read at Apple’s iBookstore, a Nook Snap at BarnesAndNoble.com, and a Short Read at Kobo. The story is free to Byliner subscribers at Byliner.com.

92 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

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The author Peter Quinn, whose third and final installment of the Detective Fintan Dunne trilogy was released in October, talks to Tom Deignan

The History-Mystery Man

I

t’s been nearly 20 years since Peter Quinn’s epic Banished Children of Eve, arguably the greatest novel of the New York Irish, was published. Over the course of 600 pages, Quinn depicts the city in all its gore and glory, as the Irish and others struggle to find a place in America, which had absorbed wave after wave of Famine immigrants, only to then be plunged into a bloody Civil War. With extraordinary attention to detail and a diverse cast of characters, Quinn presents the causes and consequences of these seismic events, including the Draft Riots of 1863, and raises important questions about the Irish, immigration, assimilation and the myth of the melting pot.

“Once the Irish stepped off those boats, they were different people. Because now they had to deal with all these other people,” Quinn said recently, seated in the back room of the Old Town bar on East 18th Street in Manhattan.

Now 66, Quinn was alternately comic and reflective, irreverent and earnest, over the course of a wide-ranging interview that covered his writing career, the Irish in America, as well as his latest book, Dry Bones, the third and final installment in his celebrated Fintan Dunne trilogy.

Though set decades after the Civil War, the Dunne trilogy – Hour of the Cat, The Man Who Never Returned, and Dry Bones – all raise similarly dramatic questions about the Irish in America, and the triumphs and tragedies of life in the big city.

As Quinn himself wrote in his 2005 collection of essays Looking for Jimmy, it is important that we remember how “an immigrant group already under punishing cultural and economic pressures, reeling in the wake of the worst catastrophe in Western Europe in the 19th century, and plunged into the fastest industrializing society in the world . . . built its own far-flung network of charitable and educational institutions, preserved its own identity, and had a profound influence on the future of both the country it left and the one it came to.”

Done with Dunne One of Eve’s millions of banished children was a World War I veteran and ex-cop turned private investigator named Fintan Dunne.

“To me, Dunne is a quintessential Irish New York character – an ex cop, cynical, but not without certain ideals – who thinks everyone is full of shit until proven otherwise. Which is an attitude I’m in love with,” says Quinn, his laughter rising above the crowd noise of the Old Town, a fitting interview location, given its own links to New York’s storied past. Over a century old, with its gleaming mahogany bar, 19th-century bathroom fixtures and Tammany Hall campaign posters, the Old Town is a joint Fintan Dunne himself might have frequented.

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adds Quinn. “But [the idea] for every one of my novels started with a conversation at a bar.”

In Dry Bones, Dunne is recruited to the Office of Strategic Services – the forerunner to the CIA – by pal and Irish American legend Col. William “Wild Bill” Donovan. It is 1945 and World War II is finally drawing to a close. Dunne and his colleagues must go behind enemy lines to rescue a team of fellow OSS officers. The mission leads Dunne to numerous revelations, the consequences of which reverberate for a decade afterwards. In Dry Bones, we see Dunne not only on the front lines, but also thrust into the prosperous 1950s, where our cantankerous hero has trouble fitting in.

Dry Bones follows The Man Who Never Returned, in which Dunne attempted to solve the notorious real-life case of Judge Joseph Crater, who vanished from West 45th Street in August of 1930, never to be heard from again.

The first entrance in Quinn’s Dunne trilogy was Hour of the Cat, set on the eve of World War II, when Dunne finds himself ensnared in a Nazi scheme involving players on both sides of the Atlantic.

The History-Mystery Asked if Fintan Dunne is a relative of Jimmy Dunne, the streetwise Irish hustler from Banished Children of Eve, Quinn says: “Fintan Dunne is a relative of Jimmy’s, but I don’t know how . . . the relationship between Jimmy and Fintan is real, but its exact nature is swallowed up in the realities and complexities of famine Irish descendants in New York City.”

All in all, the Fintan Dunne trilogy – aside from being excellent page-turning mysteries – are also brilliant social histories of New York in the middle of the American Century. Best-selling author James Patterson has praised Quinn for “perfecting . . . a genre you could call the history-mystery,” while Pulitzer Prize winner William Kennedy has dubbed the Dunne books “noir fiction at its finest.”

Upon the release of Dry Bones, The Wall Street Journal ran a long review of all three Dunne books, with reviewer Tom Nolan calling Dry Bones “another work of intricate structure, suspense and wit.”

Quinn also believes the books capture something vital about Irish America.

“I like to think that one of the subplots of these three books is the New York Irish from 1918 to 1958. It’s one of the most important periods,” says Quinn, when “the real process of Irish assimilation” took place.

It is also a time period of such rapid change that centuries, rather than decades, seem to pass.

Consider a scene from Hour of the Cat, where Dunne conducts an investigation on the West Side of Manhattan.

These days the West Side is a gleaming wonderland whose

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cafes and sidewalks are clogged with bustling businessman and European tourists. The wildly popular High Line park is an old elevated train track converted into an exotic walkway bursting with visitors and plant life.

But the West Side Dunne prowls transports us back to a time when the West Side was the heavily Irish and deeply impoverished neighborhood known as Hell’s Kitchen.

“The cobblestones on Twelfth Avenue were slippery wet. The hum of the highway overhead flowed like an electric current down the iron supports into the street. Behind a frayed corroded wire fence was a huddle of tarpaper shacks; beyond, on the mist shrouded river, the gigantic bulk of a passenger liner glided slowly towards the harbor’s mouth. The sudden, explosive blare of its horn momentarily drowned out the heckle of horns, whistles, bells, the argument of the New York waterfront.”

These scenes of Depression-era Hoovervilles in Hell’s Kitchen – like the entire trilogy – do what all of the best historical fiction does: bring the past back to life while also compelling us to make connections between the past and the present.

As Quinn puts it: “Historical fiction is a pack of lies in pursuit of truth.”

Politics and Religion Over the course of Quinn’s trilogy, New York transforms from a depression-addled city to a gleaming metropolis undergoing a post-war boom.

“The wars were catalysts for social mixing and assimilation,” notes Quinn, whose Bronx-born father was a U.S. congressman and long-time judge.

“So was Prohibition. This was the first time the upper classes drank with lower classes. And it was the first time women drank with men. . . . The city is very different in the 1930s than it is in the 1950s.”

Quinn’s own life is intimately tied to New York City. His grandparents were Irish immigrants who settled on the Lower East Side, where his father was born.

Both of Quinn’s parents attended college, quite a rare feat for mid-century Irish Americans.

Catholic schools played a key role in the Quinn family’s achievements.

“My father felt a great debt to the De La Salle Christian brothers . . . they had bigger dreams for him that he didn’t even have for himself.”

Quinn, along with his twin brother, Tom, and two sisters, was raised in the Bronx. Quinn’s father was elected to the New York State Assembly in the 1930s, and later to a term in Congress, before embarking on a long judicial career.

Quinn’s parents, he said, were “big readers,” and the preVatican II Church he grew up in, with its highly ritualized Latin mass, also encouraged a reverence for mystery.

“Everything is a mystery,” notes Quinn, whose readings of Raymond Chandler also inspired the Dunne books. “Marriage is a mystery, death is a mystery . . . it’s all a mystery.”

Quinn attended Manhattan College, but after graduation had trouble settling into a satisfying career. It was while he was working as a messenger on Wall Street that his father took him aside and reminded him of what had served generations of New York Irish Americans so well: civil service.

Quinn’s father strongly suggested he take an upcoming court officer’s test.

“I was not enough of a 1960s rebel to defy my father,” Quinn quipped.

Love of Stories After a few years as a court officer, Quinn returned to school, completing all of the course requirements (though not the dissertation) for a doctorate in history from Fordham. An article by Quinn about the Irish ended up on New York governor Hugh Carey’s desk, which led to a job as a speechwriter – first for Carey, and then for Mario Cuomo.

After that, he worked as the editorial director for Time Warner. But politics and the corporate world were no match for the printed word.

“I always had a book in the drawer,” Quinn said, adding that he usually woke up in the wee hours of the morning to work on what would become Banished Children of Eve, before heading off to his day job.

“To love is to persist,” says Quinn, playfully adding that he chased his wife, Kathy, for 14 years before they were married.

(They have two children.)

“My mother always told me as a kid: ‘Wherever you go, come back with a story.’ ” Quinn adds: “The most important human occupation, I think, is storytelling. . . . What distinguishes us as a species is not just moveable thumbs. We’re the only storytellers. Every tribe, every nation, every family, every religion is a story.”

Thanks to Peter Quinn – not to mention Fintan Dunne and the expansive cast of Banished Children of Eve – the story of the Irish IA in America is much more rich and compelling.

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Tara O’Grady and

All That Jazz Her love of classic music (both Irish and American), classic cars and an unwavering belief in the good old-fashioned American Dream has seen Tara O’Grady through three CD releases and a book deal – not bad for an Irish girl from Queens. With a touch of superstition and lots of winking charm, she shared her story with Kara Rota.

T

ara O’Grady comes from a line of adventurous women on journeys. Her mother, from Mountcharles, Donegal, came to America on a boat in 1957. Her parents met at a dance in Woodside, Queens. “[My mom] approached dad at the bar and said, ‘What county are you from?’ and he said, ‘The Bronx.’ She goes, ‘No, I mean in Ireland, what county are you from?’ and he said, ‘The Bronx!’ She said, ‘I hate when Irish put on American accents,’ and he’s like, ‘I’m American! I was born in the Bronx!’ His dad was from Roscommon, in Ballaghaderreen, and his mom was from Waterford, in Kilmacthomas. Mom swore he was Irishborn because he walked and talked like a farmer, and he was with his Roscommon cousins – they just kind of had a swagger.”

Growing up, O’Grady heard her father play traditional Irish fiddle at home. In high school, her brother took up clarinet, then saxophone, flute, and piano. He played in jazz bands in high school and college. “I was listening to jazz from the golden age of Hollywood, and traditional Irish music at home. Mom listened to Elvis and Patsy Cline and Hank Williams.

All of that in my head, eventually I started singing. It took a long time.”

O’Grady didn’t start performing until after a life-changing visit to her eye doctor in 1999, and all because she mentioned that she liked the glasses he was wearing.

“He said, ‘Only jazz musicians can wear these.’ . . . I’m the type of person who believes if you say something out loud, it becomes a reality, so I said, ‘Well, I’m a jazz singer.’ He tested me and he said, ‘Well, sing something.’ I wasn’t shy, I could imitate anybody’s voice on the radio. I said, ‘What do you want to hear?’ and he said, ‘How about something by

96 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Billie Holiday?’ I said, ‘Who’s he?’”

O’Grady’s musical education followed quickly after that. Her eye doctor referred her to a weekly jam session near Wall Street with a collection of bankers who were weekend warriors in the jazz scene.

She learned songs by Billie, as well as Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone. “They were just throwing titles at me and I was researching it all. So for a year of Sunday school, let’s call it, I learned everything that I could possibly learn. Then I went back to my eye doctor for my annual appointment, and I said, ‘I not only know who Billie Holiday is now, I’ve earned my frames, and do you want to start a band with me?’”

She played with her eye doctor for over a decade, and they collaborated on her first album, Black Irish, released in 2010.

“I was at work, preparing for a meeting, just singing to myself. This jazz pianist was in the office and he said, ‘What are you singing?’ I said ‘Oh, I’m just preparing for a gig.’ I always sang “Danny Boy” in my jazz sets, because I heard Harry Connick Jr. sing it in Memphis Belle. It was the first time I ever heard a traditional Irish song performed in an alternate way. He swung it up-tempo and I thought that was brilliant. So in addition to all the songs by Nina, Billie, and Ella, I was always doing “Danny Boy” with my eye doctor. The jazz pianist said ‘Look, you should record that.’ I was like ‘Oh, yeah, right, sure, I’ll just record “Danny Boy” and a bunch of traditional Irish songs and swing them like Billie Holiday. He’s like, ‘That’s a great idea!’ And then I thought, my God, you’re right, that is a great idea!”

Black Irish was recorded in a studio near Wall Street and includes Irish classics like “Molly Malone,” “The Water is Wide,” “Nora,” “Peggy Gordon,” and

“Wild Rover.” Serendipitously, a group of producers in Nashville heard the album and invited O’Grady to record an album of originals in Music City, only a few months after making Black Irish. “They asked me to come down to Nashville to have a brainstorming meeting, and within two weeks I wrote 12 songs and brought them down with me. They were like, ‘We thought you were going to write with us, not write them in advance!’ I was just like, ‘Well, I love a good challenge!’ They set a recording date a few months later with some of the top guys in Nashville, people who’d recorded with the Chieftains and Taylor Swift and a lot of country people.

Guys they knew that could really swing and do jazz too. So it’s a blues/jazz album, but my dad was very adamant, he said ‘Look, you’ve got to have a fiddle on that album. And throw in a tin whistle and an accordion, just to still have some of those instruments.’”

Then O’Grady’s story took a turn. In a tough economy, she was laid off from her dream job, as a program manager designing imaginative workshops for educators at Lincoln Center, one the top performing arts centers in the world. With a background in education, she was passionate about helping educators bring creative arts into their curriculums. When she was let go, she decided to take the opportunity to use her creative skills and her sudden free time to re-create a cross-country road trip taken by her paternal grandmother in 1957 – the same year her mother came to

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America. As the family legend goes, O’Grady’s grandmother married her grandfather because he was the only man she knew who owned a car during the Depression: a 1934 Chevy.

O’Grady made a YouTube video featuring one of her songs, “I Want To Go to There,” asking Chevy for a free ride to help her on her journey. It also happened to be Chevy’s 100th anniversary.

“When my father’s mother, from Waterford, came to America, she always had this desire to travel and see the West, but she didn’t have a driver’s license. . . .

[My grandfather] would say, ‘You don’t need a license. You can walk to church, walk to the school, walk to the shop.’

When he went home for Easter to Roscommon one year, she secretly got her driver’s license. And when he got back she told him, ‘I’m taking the Chevy and I’m driving across America.’ He said, ‘You won’t get over the George Washington Bridge.’ And she said, ‘Watch me.’ She

Above: A postcard from Tara’s road trip. Right: With her father, Tom O’Grady at Peter Quinn’s book launch. Top: Publicity shot.

didn’t know how to turn around the car, but she knew how to go straight. She took my dad, who was 16 at the time, and my aunt, who was 14, and she drove all the way to Washington State, stopping in Yellowstone, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Montana. She slept in the car, and dad had a tent that he slept in next to the car. They caught fish, bathed in rivers, saw Native Americans on horseback, a whole extraordinary adventure. They were on the road for 7 weeks.”

The stated purpose of the trip was to visit O’Grady’s granduncle, her grandfather’s brother. Father Peter O’Grady was a Jesuit priest from Roscommon stationed in Spokane, Washington. “He called at one point saying, ‘They haven’t arrived yet – did they die on the road?’ because it was taking them so long. But she was lingering.

She was in Yellowstone for two weeks.

She was having a ball. She called my grandfather from there, the first call after four weeks on the road. He’s like, ‘I thought you were dead!’ She said, ‘We’re having a blast! We’re fine. How’s cooking

for yourself?’ In the ’50s, a housewife, leaving her husband to fend for himself – you didn’t do that, you know? Highways had only just opened up, and women did not take to the road yet. If they did, it was with their husbands at the wheel.”

Chevy was moved by O’Grady’s family story and helped her re-create her grandmother’s journey in a borrowed Silverado pickup truck and SUV. This trip is the subject of a book she’s getting published. “I was interviewing people across America, from farmers to truckers to retirees to teachers to cowboys, about the American Dream. I bumped into so many people connected to Ireland. When I got to Montana, I met people who knew my grandmother or who knew my family or who were related to me. I found all these people on the road that I feel like my grandparents led me to.”

I asked Tara if she felt that there might be some innate similarity between American jazz and traditional Irish music, a similar soul that connects them and makes her versions sound so meant-to-be.

She had recently shared her interpretation of “Danny Boy,” perhaps the most well known Irish ballad, for a BBC/RTV documentary. “Not only is the melody so powerful and memorable, but it became an Irish-American anthem when it left Ireland, as the immigrant does, and makes its way in the new world. It’s taken on in a different way. There’s a whole segment in the film that shows African Americans taking this song and putting their own intentions to it, and rhythms. Hollywood took it and swung it, in the ’40s. Then in the ’50s Elvis took it, and then African American R&B artists took it. They kept changing the tempo and the feel . . . things change when they’re in a different culture.

It works because every culture has that loss and longing. There’s a sadness about it, but there’s a soulfulness.”

Whether performing at jazz clubs in New York or Irish music festivals, Tara O’Grady takes it upon herself to help her listeners hear things a little bit differently.

Hers is a story of making something out of bits and pieces, of spontaneous creation and minimal rehearsal. When she performs live, she sings every request the audience throws at her – and if she doesn’t know it yet, she learns it for the next time. This can-do spirit has carried her far, and Tara O’Grady still has a lot of road to IA cover.

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{irish place names}

Main Street in Limerick, Maine c. 1915.

By Adam Farley

Limerick, Maine

T

he history of Limerick, Maine, in York County at the southwest corner of the state, is the history of the everyday: families having children; settlers clearing land, bartering for goods and services, building mills; farmers harvesting and selling at market.

In this way, it is unremarkable; but it is also for this normalcy that Limerick today remains an unequivocally authentic New England town.

The 28 square miles over which incorporated Limerick spreads were former hunting grounds for the Abenaki Indians, an Algonquian-speaking tribe whose many sub-groups spread throughout New England. By the late 17th century, though, coastal settlements were expanding and one fur trader named Francis Small moved inland, allegedly purchasing what would become Limerick from the Abenaki for two blankets, two gallons of rum, two pounds of powder, four pounds of musket balls and twenty strings of beads, in 1668.

Small then sold half his holding to Nicholas Shapleigh, a wealthy merchant, and although the land remained largely unsettled for the next hundred years due to the French and Indian Wars, the two families maintained the title.

In 1773, a decade after the French and Indian War ended with the Paris Treaty, a land dispute between Small and Shapleigh wound up in claims court. Though the specifics of the case may be lost, the result is known. The eminent York County lawyer James Sullivan won the case on behalf of the descendants of Small, while Shapleigh was granted the title of a small portion of the land he defended. This land he named after his father’s birthplace in Ireland, creating Limerick Plantation. A lead plaque unearthed in the 1850s and now housed at the Maine Historical Society, preserves the signatures of the original 14 settlers of Limerick Plantation,

98 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

including James Sullivan. It is dated May 15, 1772.

Though James Sullivan never permanently settled in Limerick, he had a large hand in making it habitable. According to an 1859 biography written by his grandson Thomas Avery, in 1774, “He took his axe, week’s provision, and, in his blanket frock and trousers, went to Limerick with the other settlers, most of whom were from Saco, and commenced felling trees to reduce his land to a state of cultivation for the support of himself and his family. On Saturday he returned, the distance of thirty miles, black and cheerful as the natives

Above: Willowbrook Farm in Limerick, Maine. Right: The town’s seal.

when they return from a successful hunt.”

However much purchase this anecdote is given, it attests to the fact that Sullivan was a man of action. He was heavily involved in Massachusetts politics at the time (Maine was still then a part of Massachusetts and would not become a state until 1820) as an early advocate of the Constitutional Convention. He eventually served as one of the first justices on the Massachusetts Supreme Court, then as Attorney General for the Commonwealth, and was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1807. One of his most famous cases while on the court was Commonwealth v. Nathaniel Jennison, which effectively abolished slavery in the state in 1783.

By 1787, the population of Limerick had grown to about 400 and the community was officially incorporated on March 6, 1787. Due to favorable soil conditions and its location near several water sources, Limerick thrived as an agricultural community. An account of the town written in 1830 by Charles Freeman paints an idyllic portrait of a typical New England farming town, where “nine-tenths of the inhabitants are employed in agriculture,” “a flock of sheep is owned in every farmer’s family,” and “orchards do well, and more cider is made than is for the interest of the town.”

Over the next century, the comment about sheep would be increasingly important, as the town gradually became a textile manufacturing hub. The town’s historic, and still operating, mill was built in 1846

by James Bradbury, who founded the Limerick Manufacturing Company. In 1857, it was purchased by Joshua Holland who became the supplier of wool blankets to the Union Army during the Civil War, now known as Holland Blankets. The company still exists today as Bosal Foam & Fiber, and since 1987 has been located at the same historic mill in which it began.

Since its founding, Limerick has had close relations with the larger cities of Maine like Saco, Biddeford, and Portland, though the direction of travel has changed. In the early days of settlement and development, Limerick agrarians and manufacturers would travel to town and sell goods like apples, cranberries, wheat, wool, and fabric. Now, however, the commute tends the other way, with urban residents visiting Limerick for its preserved heritage, thanks to the Limerick Historical Society, and easy access to hiking, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing.

Aislinn Sarnacki of the Bangor Daily News recommends a day hike up Limerick’s Sawyer Mountain, located in “the largest unfragmented block of undeveloped forested areas in York and Cumberland counties.”

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{what are you like?}

By Kate Overbeck

Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, Dean of the UCD Schools of Business, discusses the future of studying in Ireland, effective leadership, his first job, and Irish determination.

C

iarán Ó hÓgartaigh was appointed Dean of the UCD Schools of Business (UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business) in 2011. Under his leadership, the school’s revenues have increased by over 12 percent, and new faculty members are on the rise.

At a time when Ireland is striving to rebuild its reputation in the global economy and attract international business to its shores, the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School – the only school in Ireland that is triple accredited by the three major international accreditation bodies – stands to play a more important role than ever before.

Born in Dublin and raised in an Irish-speaking household in Galway, Ó hÓgartaigh has a background in accounting and academia. A first-class-honors, first-in-class graduate of NUI Galway with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, he qualified as

a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen in Dublin and holds a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Leeds.

A former Fulbright Fellow at Northeastern University in Boston, he has published widely on financial reporting and on accounting history in international peer-reviewed publications.

He led the UCD Smurfit School’s facilitation of the Global Irish Economic Forum in 2011, and is currently chair of the Final Admitting Examination Board of Chartered Accountants Ireland. Ó hÓgartaigh joined the UCD accounting faculty in 2008, from the School of Accounting and Commercial Law at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. In addition to his responsibilities as dean, he continues to teach the undergraduate accounting course Financial Accounting III in the UCD Quinn School of Business.

What makes for an effective leader?

Appoint the best people and let them get on with the job within a clear, supportive framework. A-star leaders appoint A-star people, B-star leaders appoint C-star people. In universities in particular, we have a lot of bright people who just need to be energized.

enriches the learning experience substantively for all our students. China, India, Germany and the USA comprise the most significant countries of origin (in that order).

What makes the UCD School of Business different?

UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is the only business school in Ireland which is triple accredited and whose programs are consistently ranked in the top 100 in the world.

In addition, we are in the only English-speaking country in the Eurozone. We have intense clusters of industry and therefore expertise in areas such as digital business and society, food innovation and financial services. Our students tell us that we have an open, friendly learning environment which fosters discussion and debate.

What’s your vision for the school?

To build on Ireland’s strengths and needs to enhance our international reputation and reach. This is an ‘act local, think global’ strategy: we are of Ireland but international at the same time. Our future as a school (and as a country) depends on internationalization.

How many students come from outside of Ireland?

In 2013-14, 47 percent of the 1,200 students entering the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School are foreign. This 100 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

What are the greatest challenges facing business students today?

Having something different to offer. Our U.S. students often tell us that this is why they come to us to study: having an MBA from a leading international business school outside the U.S. gives them something different from their peers.

What advantages do they have?

A great sense of confidence that we didn’t have.

What stands out to you from your own education?

I remember an excellent teacher, of Irish, Bernie O’Connell, who used the short stories of Padraic Ó Conaire (which are full of misfortune) as a way of telling us that everybody has problems and what matters is how you deal with them.

And then there was the Jesuit, Liam Greene, who used to say that “you can have your cake with jam on it and eat it.”

A great attitude.

What was your first job?

A summer job just outside Paris, a company called Gaupillat which manufactured copper molds. I got it through AIESEC, a great student-run organization which still sources international placements for students.

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What drives you?

Following my parents’ advice, doing my best.

We are merely servants, we only do our duty. After that, a Toyota Prius.

Do you strike up conversations on long plane journeys?

It may be a long plane journey but I generally prefer short conversations.

What is on your bedside table?

A lamp, a radio alarm clock, a book (currently The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes) and a pile of receipts for expenses as yet unclaimed.

Where do you go to think?

My walk to and from work is the most precious part of the day.

What is your hidden talent?

Keeping my hidden talents hidden.

What quality do you seek in friends?

Honesty.

Favorite quote?

Patrick Kavanagh’s line in his poem “Advent,” “Through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder,” which reflects the value of innocence and curiosity.

Best advice ever received?

I get lots of good advice. Growing up, we spoke Irish at home and my parents always said “Déan do dhícheall” – do your best. There is both a great sense of security and a great challenge in that. Robert Louis Stevenson’s advice, “Be supple in things immaterial,” helps me in sleeping in a job like this.

My colleague Peter Clarke’s advice, “People don’t remember what you say, they remember how you made them feel,” helps me in speaking in a job like this.

Best advice ever given?

That’s not for me to judge.

Best opening line in a book or piece of music?

Can I have a closing line instead? The last line of The Road by Cormac McCarthy: “In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery.”

There is a great sense of security and sanctuary there in a book that is steeped in the uncertainties of life. The father’s journey evokes for me my own father’s commitment to progress and to his family.

What event changed you the most?

The year I spent in Boston as a Fulbrighter.

I came back with a great sense of ambition, several new friends in research and a determination not to complain about Irish weather again.

What don’t people get about you?

My determination.

What don’t people get about the Irish?

Our determination.

If you weren’t doing what you are doing, what would you do?

I’d be Professor of Accounting at UCD and just as happy.

What is your greatest passion?

My wife, Margaret.

Your proudest moment?

I’ll take a recent one: meeting a student from Frankfurt, Germany who had come especially to the UCD Smurfit School to enroll in our MSc in digital marketing. He came to us in September 2013 to enroll in September 2014! This is our vision for the school playing out in life. IA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 IRISH AMERICA 101

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{sláinte}

By Edythe Preet

Hooray for St. Stephen & “Up Sraid Eoin!”

Edythe Preet writes of St. Stephen’s Day traditions that include hunting the wren. look forward to the Christmas holidays more than anyone I’ve ever known. In addition to the main events, my birthday falls smack dab in the middle between Christmas and the New Year. All my life I’ve heard people say, “Oh you poor dear.” Even when I was a child, I thought those naysayers were clueless, because while most children get only one 24-hour period to enjoy their birthdays, mine occurred during the no-school-for-two-weeks biggest celebration season of the year.

In our house, those weeks ushered in a parade of special events and special food. On Christmas Eve we went to my Aunt Matilda’s home for her traditional Italian Feast of Seven Fishes. The following afternoon, everyone came to our house for Christmas turkey and all the trimmings, plus Irish Fruitcake and Mincemeat Pie. Two days later, it was my birthday and both my mother and my aunt made my favorite cakes. Three days after that, I was allowed to join the adult cocktails ‘n tidbits party and stay up until midnight to greet the New Year. Then on January 1, the whole family came to our house again to eat traditional foods that would Irish wren boys, Saint Stephen’s Day, circa 1950. bring everyone luck in the New Year.

Already, that’s more celebrating – and eating – than most As such it called for making some great sacrifice to convince the American families experience, but on top of everything else, sun to linger longer in the sky. Since the wren occupied such a thanks to my dad’s Irish roots, December 26th was a special key totemic niche in the critter world, a Druid priest would trap time on our celebration calendar as well. Some call it The and slay one of the little birds, place its body atop a pole adorned Wren’s Day. Some call it St. Stephen’s Day. Some call it Boxing with holly, the Druids’ sacred bush that bears fruit in the midst Day. Any one of the titles is appropriate, for the event has a of winter’s chill, and parade the offering about the settlement checkered history that began in the time of the pre-Christian with great ritual and ceremony. The idea was that the wren’s Celtic Druids and picked up customs as it traveled through the innocent spirit would carry the Druids’ plea for safe passage centuries. through the winter months to the gods.

The tale starts with the wren. In Gaelic, the wren is called When Christianity arrived on the island, the Church no more Sraid Eoin or Druid’s bird. Since this little warbler could just as favored the ceremony of the wren than any other of the Druidic easily soar to great heights as flutter about unseen in the underbeliefs. The people were not, however, willing to turn away brush, it symbolized divinity, wisdom, and cunning. It nested in from a ritual that had ostensibly done a good job of staving off lightning-proof oak trees, and anyone who disturbed a wren’s winter perils for eons. Just as it had tried to replace Samhain nest ran the risk of having his own home struck and destroyed with All Hallows, Imbolc with St. Brigid, and Beltaine with by a shaft of celestial wattage. The bird’s diet of insects helped Easter, Rome declared that the day following Christmas would keep crops safe, and hearing its song was considered a good be dedicated to the memory of the Church’s first martyr, St. omen. For most of the year, it was considered extreme bad luck Stephen. To combat the Druidic wren’s association with divinito harass humanity’s little feathered friend in any way whatsoty and peaceful benevolence, the hapless bird was denounced as ever. the agent whose chirping revealed St. Stephen to the authorities Way back in prehistory, midwinter was a time fraught with and brought about the good man’s execution by stoning. fear. The days were short, and it was the darkest time of the year.

In Ireland, Wren Day and St. Stephen’s Day merged in a way

I

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that boded ill for the unfortunate wren. Groups of boys would go out hunting for a wren that they stoned to death, after which they hung the bird’s body by its leg in a circle of thin branches and hoisted it atop a long pole. Then dressed head to toe in costumes made from straw, they paraded their victim from house to house begging for food and alms chanting “Up Sraid Eoin!” and singing “The wren, the wren, the king of all birds, St. Stephen’s Day was caught in the furze; Although he is little, his family’s great, I pray you, good landlady, give us a treat!”

These days, the violent nature of ‘wrenning’ has in most places given way to a more humane practice of parading with a stuffed toy wren or photocopied image of the bird, sometimes mounted on a pole and sometimes carried in a little decorated coffin box.

More environmentally conscious households build wren houses and place them outdoors, inviting the ancient sacred warbler to come live in their gardens and protect their vegetable plots by feasting on all the insects it can find.

By the Middle Ages, the day after Christmas was more commonly celebrated as St. Stephen’s Day rather than Wren Day and had evolved into a time for persons of higher social status to distribute some of their excess to persons of lower status. This charitable practice took several forms. Christmas was a time when everyone on a landed estate gathered together to celebrate.

Before those who lived off the manor premises returned home, the landowner would distribute supplies needed for the future such as tools, seed, lengths of fabric, and perhaps some cast-off clothing that the serfs and servants carted away in boxes.

Merchants too bestowed gifts – sometimes even a small sum of money – to their workers and suppliers on that day, again in boxes. A direct correlation is the modern custom of annually ‘tipping’ service people such as mail carriers at Christmas time.

Similarly, a church’s ‘Poor Box’ into which people had donated money all year was opened on December 26th and the contents distributed to the poor. In all cases, the gifts had some correlation to ‘boxes.’

In 1853, the Victorian clergyman Dr. John Neale wrote a Christmas carol entitled “Good King Wenceslaus.” In the first verse we hear that King Wenceslaus looked out of his window on the Feast of St. Stephen and spotted a poor man gathering winter fuel. Later in the song, the king himself gives the man food, drink, and firewood. The carol forever embedded the concept of caring for the less fortunate at the holiday season in popular culture.

When I was a child, my family celebrated December 26th by boxing up canned goods, plus clothing and household items we no longer used, and carting our donations to agencies that distributed food and clothing to the poor. When we returned home we enjoyed a traditional Irish Cream Tea of scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream plus copious cups of fragrant steeped tea with sugar and cream.

When my daughter was a child, I added two more customs to the day. To honor the wren, we set out winter treats for the birds, and with a modern spin on Boxing Day we honored the environment by breaking up all the Christmas gift boxes and hauling them off to a recycling center. If you do not already celebrate December 26th, I encourage you to embrace our family tradiIA tions. Sláinte!

RECIPES CREAM TEA SCONES 3 ⁄2 3 ⁄4 4 11⁄2 3 ⁄4 1 1 1

cups all-purpose flour cup sugar teaspoon salt teaspoons baking powder sticks unsalted butter, cut into small chunks cup golden raisins cup heavy cream egg yolk, mixed w/ 1 tbsp cream

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet w/ parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut in the cold butter until the mixture is the size of peas. Add the raisins and toss until evenly distributed. Add the cream, stirring just until mixture sticks together. It will be crumbly. Transfer mixture to lightly floured work surface and gently knead just until dough comes together. Shape dough into an even, flat circle that is approx one-inch thick. Brush top w/ egg-cream wash. Using a floured knife, cut the dough into 12 wedges, like a pizza.

Place scones on baking sheet one inch apart and bake on middle oven shelf for 15-20 minutes, or until tops are golden. Best served warm with clotted cream and homemade jam. Yummm!! Makes 12 scones.

CLOTTED CREAM 1

⁄2 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon powdered sugar 1 ⁄2 cup commercial sour cream

In a medium bowl, beat cream until foamy. Add powdered sugar and continue beating until the cream forms thick soft peaks. Fold in sour cream. Refrigerate until needed. Makes 1 cup.

A TREAT FOR THE BIRDS Garden twine Pinecones Peanut butter Wildbird seed

Tie a long length of garden twine to one end of each pinecone. Spread peanut butter on the pinecones, then roll them around in the wildbird seed until the surface is well covered. Hang the pinecones from a tree branch or laundry line high enough off the ground so the birds that come to feed will not be threatened by roaming cats.

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{roots}

By Adam Farley

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The Dowlings

n 1609, the few patrician members of the Dowling clan were transplanted from their native Laois to the border of north Kerry and west Limerick, dividing the clan’s geography. Today, the majority of Dowlings can be found still in the east of Ireland, where the new British landowners generally ignored the lay clansmen in their home territory along the western bank of the River Barrow. That region, anciently known as Fearann ua nDunlaing, or the Dowlings’ country, hints at the etymology of the name, which is theorized to be one of the few “residential” surnames in Irish, coming from dun, fort, and laing, possibly a corruption of the Irish long, meaning ship.

After the transplantation of the clan’s leaders, the remainders in Laois spread east and south down the River Barrow through Counties Carlow, Kilkenny, and eventually Wicklow. In fact, in the Rathdrum area of Wicklow, there are at least four townlands called Ballydowling.

It is from this area that the oldest notable Dowling emerged: Thady Dowling (1544 – 1628), an annalist and Irish language grammarian.

Coming forward in the centuries and across the pond, another man of learning was Victor J. Dowling (1866 – 1934), a New York State Supreme Court Justice and an active Knight in numerous Catholic chivalric orders, including the Order of St. Gregory the Great, Papal Chamberlain of the Cape and Sword. Another law man was the London-born colonial official Sir James Dowling (1787 – 1844), whose father was from Laois. This Dowling went on to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and wrote numerous influential treatises. His brother, Vincent George Dowling (1785 – 1852), opted to stay in London and became a successful publisher of sports magazines, including Bell’s Life and Fistiana, dedicated to boxing.

Continuing with writers, the 19th-century poem “The Brigade of Fontenoy” was composed by the Kerry-born Bartholomew Dowling (1823 – 1863) in commemoration of the Irish soldiers at France’s decisive defeat of Britain in the 18th-century Battle of Fontenoy.

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In service of the British Army in India, William Dowling (1825 – 1887), born in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his deeds during the 1857 Indian Mutiny at the Siege of Lucknow. In America, Richard W. Dowling (1838 – 1867) was a key Irish figure in the Confederate Army (though he was born in Galway), achieving the rank of lieutenant in a unit of primarily Houston-based Irish dockworkers.

Perhaps the oddest connection to the hard side of history is the 1910 marriage of Dubliner Bridget Dowling (1891 – 1969) to Alois Hitler, Jr., making her sisterin-law to Adolf Hitler. Alois had been working as a waiter at the Shelbourne Hotel since the late 1890s, though pretend-

TOP LEFT: Victor Dowling.

TOP RIGHT: James Dowling.

RIGHT: Vincent Dowling.

BELOW: Bridget Dowling

ed to be a well-to-do European businessman when he met Bridget. They eloped in London and eventually moved to Liverpool, where Bridget had a son, William Patrick, in 1911. Three years later, however, Alois abandoned the family, returned to Germany, illegally remarried, and arranged for word to be sent to Bridget that he was dead. German officials eventually discovered the illegal bigamy however, and they were finally divorced in 1929.

After World War II, Bridget and William Patrick re-located to the U.S., where William had previously traveled, lecturing on his infamous uncle. They settled in Long Island and changed their last name to Stuart-Houston.

Also on Long Island is Dowling College, named for Robert W. Dowling (1895 – 1973). Born in New York, Robert was an important real-estate investor and philanthropist and had key roles in the development of Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. He also won a Tony award in 1948 for his contribution to theater development (he owned or partly owned at least four theaters), and was one of the original producers for The Sound of Music.

More recently in the theater business is actor and director Vincent Dowling (1929 – 2013). The Dublin-born thespian got his start at the Abbey Theater before transplanting to Cleveland in the 1970s to head the Great Lakes Theater Festival, where he was the spur that turned Tom Hanks from a festival intern to a Cleveland Critics Circle Award-winning actor. Later, Vincent Dowling moved to Massachusetts, founded his own theater company, and won an Emmy for his production and direction of the PBS film of John Millington Synge’s Playboy of the Western World.

Finally, in a bit of serendipity, who would happen to have an honorary doctorate from Dowling College but this year’s Business 100 Keynote Speaker, the Limerick native Michael J. Dowling?

You can read more about him in the feaIA ture on page 38.

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{ review of books}

Recently published books of Irish and Irish-American interest.

Poetry

Fiction

Songs and Sonnets

Someone

aul Muldoon has eleven previous volumes of poetry and has won many prizes, including the Pulitzer and the T.S. Eliot. This year, he released two books of song lyrics, and though they may not win awards, that’s not the point.

At a brisk 48 pages, Songs and Sonnets is more ear candy than brain candy. But amid the poems’ entertainment (and some truly spectacular rhymes – DDT with debt, Château Lynch-Bages with 3car garage, “a little quilting” with “Hillbilly Hilton”), is masked the seriousness of their subjects: adultery, substance abuse, limits of knowledge and language, aging, death. These aren’t new subjects for Muldoon. The novelty is wedging them into a three-verse-and-a-bridge lyric, forcing us to acknowledge that poetry was once fettered to the lyre. Muldoon asks what it means that the two have parted company, and can or should they be rejoined?

Constituting a more traditional poetics, the six sonnets emphasize that question. As much as the songs delight with their epicurean wordplay and hailstorm of allusions (Keats to CSNY to Von Braun), they need a counterpoint. Perhaps the most direct is the final sonnet, titled “Recalculating,” as if to suggest our own potential recalculation of Muldoon’s oeuvre after this volume.

The book’s opening song also seems to prod us. Ostensibly following the banal trope of “please, fall in love with me” lyrics, as the poem moves from invoking ancient famous lovers like Heloise and Abelard to the “Gestapo asking questions,” the ineffectual pining heart turns into an active and terrifying summons: “You may have found / You can’t resist me much more.” As an opening, “Resistance” is apropos (and possibly prophetic), since anyone coming to this book skeptical of the sometimes obvious lines and easy rhymes by the Pulitzer-winning Muldoon may have to be coerced into enjoyment.

Once you are, though, this collection will keep getting better and better.

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– Adam Farley (Enitharmon / $24.95 / 48 pages) 106 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

o one captures the power of simplicity better than Alice McDermott. The winner of the 1999 National Book Award for Charming Billy, McDermott, born to first-generation Irish-American parents in Brooklyn, is also one of the most insightful chroniclers of the Irish-American family experience.

Her first novel in seven years, Someone is the story of Marie Commeford – Brooklyn-born like her author, though earlier. Here, McDermott weaves together various passages from seven decades of Marie’s life: age seven, sitting on her stoop and eyeing, through her thick glass-

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es, neighbors on their way home from work as she waits for her father; a few years later, stubbornly refusing to learn how to cook out of an unexpressed fear that if she does, her mother will die; walking in Prospect Park with her brother, Gabe, who is home for good from the priesthood, as he helps her get through her first heartbreak; on the night of her wedding to a man who entered and reentered her life by chance; being helped home from a botched cataract procedure by one of her daughters; in a nursing home, unexpectedly content with the company of one of the attendants and some angels she has recently begun to see. They flit through chronology and vary in importance, though each moment adds greatly to the portrait of Marie and

Gifts for a Good Cause

Looking for some Irish-inspired gifts this holiday season? These two collections are a delight to read and support Irish charities.

The Gathering: Reflections on Ireland

o commemorate the year of the highly successful “Gathering” initiative, in which members of the far-flung Irish diaspora as well as those who simply love Ireland have been encouraged to visit, The Irish Hospice Foundation has compiled a beautiful collection of over 60 stories, reflections and photographs.

Edited by journalist Miriam Donohoe, it is filled with thoughtful meditations on Ireland and on being Irish, from contributors of renown – such as Bono, Colum McCann, Katie Taylor, Loretta Brennan Glucksman, Moya Doherty, Comma-

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nder Chris Hadfield (who waxes humorously and lyrically on Ireland from outer space) and the late Seamus Heaney – and from less famous folks who have had meaningful experiences with Ireland in the past year.

Accounts of official Gathering events, some of which made headlines and others that you might not otherwise learn of, are also included. In “The Famine Attic Experience,” Neisha Wratten travels from Adelaide to Leitrim to relive the last night her great-great-grandmother spent at a Carrick-on-Shannon workhouse before being sent to Australia; in the “Hide and Seek Children,” a special event to marks the return of the Slovak Jewish children who spent a year recovering in Ireland in 1948 after the Holocaust; and in the “Gathering of the Stones,” masons from Ireland and abroad construct a special dry wall structure in Offaly, symbolically incorporating granite blocks from the old immigrant docks in New York.

All proceeds benefit the Irish Hospice Foundation, which aims to encourage a re-evaluation of end of life care in Ireland. The book recently received a star-studded Manhattan launch, where

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of the times in which she lives.

McDermott’s quietly penetrating observations contrast with Marie’s near-sightedness, which goes beyond the physical and the thick-lensed glasses she loathes.

Often, Marie doesn’t grasp what is right in front of her – sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes as a kind of defense against the world, which has changed so much in her lifetime. In this character, readers will see qualities of women they know (their mothers, their grandmothers, themselves) and glimpses into a way be being that seems to be – for better and for worse – slowly fading. Someone is a actor Gabriel Bryne, who, along with Daniel Day-Lewis, is a staunch advocate for improved hospice care in Ireland, praised both the book itself and the foundation’s mission.

– Sheila Langan (The Irish Hospice Foundation / $30.00 / 256 pages)

The Broadsheet Book of Unspecified Things That Look Like Ireland

o begin on an honest note, it must be said that this book is no great literary or artistic feat. Unlike many books of photographs, it is not a handsomely designed coffee table tome to treasure and/or to impress guests. So what is it? It’s pure fun. And a great testament to the Irish sense of humor.

The collection – quite literally of things that happen to look like Ireland (or in some cases were probably manipulated to) – represents the culmination of a two-year project by the Irish satirical news and culture site Broadsheet.ie.

Editor Aidan Coughlan crowd sourced for images of things that looked like Ireland. (For those who’ve never taken the time to consider what the island looks like, it is most often compared to a teddy

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beautiful, haunting work, and, like its protagonist, is not to be underestimated.

– Sheila Langan (Farrar, Straus and Giroux / $25.00 / 234 pages)

Red Sky in Morning

startling debut debut that’s earning serious praise on both sides of the Atlantic – lauds from Sebastian Barry and Daniel Woodrell; an advance interview in Publisher’s Weekly – Paul Lynch’s Red Sky in Morning confronts the historical pretext to the Irish Famine with unparalleled lyricism and a strong sense of the elemental forces such times can evoke in people.

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bear.) The submissions came in droves and inspired a small but steady national online phenomenon.

The photographs – a few professionallooking; most snapped with cell phones – are organized into sections, including “The Edible,” “The Uncategorizable,” and “The Natural.” There is even an entire section dedicated to chicken nuggets, most of which look highly unappealing but do indeed resemble Ireland’s geographical outline. In some of the images, Ireland is immediately recognizable (the upstanding hedge; the piece of pyrite in a Washington, D.C. museum), others less so (sorry, Gavan Flinter, I couldn’t see Ireland in the ivy growing on the side of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna), but they’re all good fun and will inspire you to look for Ireland in the most unexpected places.

Even better, proceeds from the book are being donated to the Irish charity Aware, which provides information, education and support services for people struggling with depression or anxiety. – Sheila Langan (Dufour Editions & New Island Books / $28.95 / 192 pages)

Starting in 1832 in Co. Donegal and sweeping across the ocean to America and the strange mix of opportunity and strife found there in the Pennsylvania Railroad work camps, the story centers on two men: Coll Coyle and John Faller.

Coyle is a tenant farmer, living with his wife and children on the estate of the Hamilton family. Faced with the prospect of eviction, Coyle seeks a word with the feckless son now in charge of his family’s fate, and in one confused second accidentally brings about the young man’s death. John Faller, the overseer who, we learn early on, was likely the young Hamilton’s real father, thus begins his pursuit of Coyle and of his family, who flee separately. The Ireland we see along Coyle’s meandering journey from his home to the city of Derry is cold, desolate and poor, and the new life that awaits him in America is not that much brighter.

Lynch’s background in film – he was the chief film critic of Ireland’s Sunday Tribune from 2007 to 2011 and has been hailed by the Irish Times as one of Ireland’s “finest film writers” – is evident throughout, particularly in some of the tropes he uses to breathe new life into the time period: complicated evil hunting down increasingly desperate good (like the eeriest of bad guys, Faller never seems to run or rush in his pursuit of Coyle); strangers along the journey whose help is invaluable but whose trustworthiness must constantly be reevaluated. In addition, Lynch has a true gift for unexpected diction, which he uses to great effect, lending the novel a constant sense of action. Take this descriptive passage as proof: “The murmur of water and he followed til near he came upon the bloom. Brushwood hazed with luminous light then fields of tubular blue. The bluebells stood headbowed as if quietly mourning their own quick passing or the memory that came as he kicked through their beauty of a time when to see them was small heaven IA itself.”

– Sheila Langan (Little, Brown & Co. / $12.99 / 288 DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 IRISH AMERICA 107

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{crossword}

By Darina Molloy

ACROSS 3 (& 34 down) She played the title role in the movie based on the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee (4) 5 Its name, as Gaeilge, means “The meadow of the sons of Nos” (11) 9 This year’s Rose of Tralee winner hails from this state (5) 11 One of the most famous U.S. battles, and presidential addresses, of all time (10) 13 Annoyed or aggravated speech (4) 14 Long-running and popular TV medical drama that launched George Clooney, among others (1, 1) 17 See 26 across (1, 7) 18 More than one unidentified flying object (4) 19 See 16 down (8) 20 Singular of are (2) 22 Longer than a single but shorter than an album, for those who can remember life before CDs and downloads! (1,1) 25 (& 2 down) Clare hurling manager (4) 26 (& 39 across, & 17 across) He fought in the Nine Year War along with the Maguires and O’Neills (3) 28 (& 21 down) NY city known for horse racing (8) 31 New bio of famously reclusive Catcher in the Rye writer (8) 32 See 6 down (7) 35 Put into action (3) 36 Colorful Cork term of abuse (6) 37 (& 45 across) Nicknamed the “Irish Giant,” he was a seaman and Antarctic explorer (3) 39 (& 17 across) See 26 across (4) 41 (& 46 across) Private Benjamin actress who died in July (6) 44 Enduring creation of Bram Stoker (7) 45 See 37 across (5) 46 See 41 across (7) 47 ______ O’Connor: This outspoken Irish singer might not be on Miley Cyrus’s Christmas card list! (6)

DOWN 1 (& 4 down) Alex Ferguson cast a critical eye on this former United

captain in his recent book (3) 2 See 25 across (10) 3 Late son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston (4) 4 See 1 down (5) 6 (& 32 across) This group of Catholic nuns in the U.S. was founded specifically for overseas work (9) 7 Japanese restaurant that now has a worldwide presence (4) 8 Ritzy Dublin hotel (8) 10 Small island off the coast of southwest Ireland (8) 11 Bird which is synonymous with silliness (5) 12 Mayo town (10) 15 (& 24 down) Trade unionist for whom new Liffey bridge was named in September (5) 16 (& 19 across) Author of Light in August (7) 21 See 28 across (7) 23 New movie starring Brendan Gleeson and Aidan Gillen (7)

Win a subscription to Irish America magazine Please send your completed crossword puzzle to Irish America, 875 Sixth Avenue, Suite 201, New York, NY 10001, to arrive no later than January 7, 2014.

A winner will be drawn from among all correct entries. If there are no correct solutions, the prize will be awarded for the completed puzzle which comes closest in the opinion of our staff. Winner’s name will be published along with the solution in our next issue. Xerox copies are acceptable.

Winner of the October / November Crossword: Lizzy Dunn, Chicago, IL 108 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

24 See 15 down (7) 27 Not very bright (3) 29 Subject (5) 30 Kerry town (7) 32 November, as Gaeilge (7) 33 A saint, in short (2) 34 See 3 across (5) 38. According to the Bible, this food is from heaven (5) 40. Not soft (4) 41. ____ and flow (3) 42. Cork’s river (3) 43. Irish for “new” (3) 45. California, in short (2)

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Those We Lost Harold M. Agnew 1921 – 2013

In late September, the last major living figure of the Manhattan Project died at the age of 92. Harold M. Agnew was 20 years old when he was assigned to work with Enrico Fermi, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, in his atomic research at the University of Chicago in early 1942. He was 21 when the team of researchers caused a chain reaction of splitting uranium atoms in a campus squash court, and the reality of nuclear power was confirmed.

The only son of a Scots-Irish stonecutter in Denver, Colorado, Agnew was born in 1921 and majored in chemistry at Denver University. By 1943, he had been transferred to Los Alamos National Laboratory. Though Agnew wasn’t responsible for any major breakthroughs, he was a meticulous and gifted technical researcher who contributed to the final design of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

On August 6, 1945, Agnew was on the B-29 bomber Enola Gay as it flew over Hiroshima and dropped the first bomb, taking measurements and recording the mushroom cloud that caused 80,000 immediate deaths. According to the New York Times, “he was the only person to witness the whole undertaking, from reactor to weapon to Hiroshima.”

When the war ended, Agnew earned a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and returned to Los Alamos in 1949 to work on weapons development. Throughout the 1960s, he acted as an advisor to the allied commander of Europe and was instrumental in implementing safety codes and protective procedures to control nuclear arsenals. He became director of Los Alamos in 1970 and advised Presidents Carter, Reagan, and Bush. In 1991 he participated in the first meeting between Soviet and American nuclear developers to determine what to do with the superpowers’ nuclear stockpiles. Agnew is survived by his daughter Nancy, his son John, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. – A.F.

Phil Chevron 1957 - 2013

Philip Chevron, writer and guitarist for The Pogues, passed away on October 8 in Dublin.

He was 56 years old. Chevron had been battling head and neck cancer since 2007, but had been in remission up until last year.

Chevron was born in Dublin on June 17, 1957; his name originally was Philip Ryan.

Before joining The Pogues in 1984, the role he is most known for, Chevron was a member of the Irish punk band the Radiators From Space.

He is credited with writing several of their songs, one of which, “Television Screen,” was 110 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

the first punk single in the world to reach the top 20.

Chevron was regarded as one of the most influential figures in Irish punk music. The Pogues, who are based out of London, gained success through a fusion of traditional Irish music, rock and punk on albums such as Rum Sodomy & the Lash and If I Should Fall from Grace With God. Widely known for his guitar playing, Chevron was also a notable lyricist and wrote several of the group’s songs, including one of its best-known, “Thousands Are Sailing,” a ballad about Irish emigration with the memorable lines: “The island is silent now / But the ghosts still haunt the waves.” After breaking up in ’96 The Pogues reunited in 2001 and have remained together since. Chevron made his last public appearance at Dublin’s Olympia Theater in August. He is survived by his mother, sister and his band, who expressed their sorrow on their website: “He was unique. We’ll miss him terribly. Dublin town, and the world, just got smaller.” – M.M.

Tom Clancy 1947 – 2013

The military espionage writer Tom Clancy died early October at the age of 66 in his hometown of Baltimore. With over 100 million copies of his books in print, 19 novels, a dozen books of non-fiction, several spin-off novel series, a number of video games inspired by his books, and four films based on his work, Clancy may have been the most prolific genre writer of his generation.

Born in 1947, Clancy eschewed the classics of children’s literature for books, journals, studies, and manuals written for military personnel. His goal of enlisting was foiled by his nearsightedness, and he became an insurance salesman in rural Maryland. When he submitted his first manuscript to the Naval Institute Press in Annapolis, editor Deborah Grosvenor knew she had to have it, recommended changes, and paid Clancy $5,000. The book was The Hunt for Red October, and after Ronald Reagan called it “my kind of yarn,” it became a massive best-seller and introduced Clancy’s most famous character, Jack Ryan, to the world.

Though Clancy was a passionate Irish American, he came under fire for his disparaging portrayal of the Irish in his 1988 novel Patriot Games, the title of which comes from an Irish ballad about the Border Campaign in Northern Ireland. In the novel, a fictional Ulster Liberation Army operative attempts to assassinate Jack Ryan and reduce American support for the IRA. “He had this innate storytelling ability, and his characters had this very witty dialogue. The gift of the Irish, or whatever it was – the man could tell a story,” Ms. Grosvenor told the New York Times after his death. Clancy is survived by his second wife, their daughter, and his four children from his first marriage. – A.F.

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Ralph Dungan 1923 – 2013

Ralph Dungan, former Kennedy aide, ambassador to Chile, and New Jersey higher education chancellor, died at his home in Barbados in early October due to complications from surgery. He was 90.

Dungan had a long and varied career in government. He was a member of President Kennedy’s inner circle, specializing in Latin American affairs. Dungan, alongside Lawrence O’Brien, Kenneth O’Donnell, Richard Donahue, and Kevin Powers, made up what was commonly referred to as Kennedy’s “Irish Mafia.” Interestingly, Kennedy’s ancestors had emigrated from Dunganstown, in Co. Wexford, Ireland. After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Dungan transitioned to President Johnson’s cabinet, later becoming ambassador to Chile.

In 1967 he was appointed New Jersey’s first chancellor for higher education, a post he held for over ten years, often battling with university presidents, teachers, staff, and even getting egged by students in 1976. Dungan was initially brought in to improve the state’s higher education system, which was suffering from record low enrollment. While his ideas were not popular, they proved beneficial in tripling enrollment and keeping students in state. After his chancellorship concluded, he was made executive director of the Inter-American Development Bank by President Jimmy Carter.

Ralph Dungan was born in 1923 in Philadelphia. His father, Ralph Sr., was a well-connected lawyer whose ancestors had come from Ireland. After serving in WWII in the US Navy, Dungan went on to graduate from St. Joseph’s University and from Princeton in 1952. In the 1950s he became a legislative assistant to then-Senator John Kennedy and moved on to his staff once Kennedy was elected president in 1960. He married Mary Rowley Dungan, who passed away in 1987. Dungan is survived by his second wife of 24 years, Judith Dungan, seven children, eight grandchildren, and one great granddaughter. – M.S.

Thomas Foley 1929 – 2013

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Tom Foley died midOctober after complications from a stroke.

Foley was a moderate Democrat who gained a reputation for compromise and bipartisan efforts during his 30-year tenure as a Representative from a conservative Washington state district, but was eventually defeated in the Republican wave of victories in 1994. He was “a legend of the United States Congress,” President Obama said in a statement, whose “straightforward approach helped him find common ground with members of both parties.”

Born in Spokane, WA in 1929, Foley was the son of a county judge; his mother was a teacher and the daughter of some of the original homesteaders in the region. It was often remarked that Foley seemed out of place in the district as a burly yet cautious man, and The New Yorker once said he was “a major player almost in spite of himself.” But Foley was one of the most successful bipartisan Speakers in recent history. Elected in 1989, he managed to force President George H.W. Bush to renege on his “no new taxes” pledge by orchestrating tax increases for the 1990 deficit-reduction deal and, despite Democratic opposition, helped President Clinton in ratifying the North American Free Trade Agreement.

After his 1994 defeat, Foley served as chairman of President Clinton’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board until 1997, and then as Ambassador to Japan until 2001. In addition to his wife, Heather, Foley is survived by his sister Maureen. – A.F.

Donal O’Brien 1934 - 2013

The conservationist movement lost a major icon in September with the passing of Donal O’Brien, due to complications from pneumonia.

O’Brien’s career in the field stretched over twenty-five years, beginning as a member of National Audubon Society and later serving for fifteen years as its chairman. His broad tenure in the NAS saw the creation of over 43 new Audubon centers and the implementation of 2,700 Important Bird Areas programs. For his efforts, O’Brien was awarded the 51st Audubon medal in 2010. Audubon chairman B. Holt Thrasher said of O’Brien, “few Americans have contributed as much to conservation.”

O’Brien was born on May 6, 1934 in Manhattan to Irish parents. A graduate of Williams College and University of Virginia Law School, he joined the firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley, & McCloy in Manhattan, and later served as chief legal counsel to the Rockefeller family. O’Brien’s love of law was only matched by his love of the outdoors. He held numerous council positions, including chairman of the Connecticut Council on Environmental Equality, commissioner of the Connecticut State Board of Fisheries and Game, and former president of the International Council for Bird Preservation.

Together with his wife, Katie, who survives him along with their four children, O’Brien organized annual “birdathon” drives that brought millions in fundraising for Audubon IA initiatives. – M.S.

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{photo album} Family Pictures

The Perfect Mother DELIA KENNEDY SHEA SEPTEMBER 19, 1924 – SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 y mother, Delia Kennedy, was born on September 19, 1924, in Kilfillig, Mountbellew – a small village of six houses, 30 miles from Galway City. She had three brothers and two sisters whom she stayed in touch with throughout her life. Her parents were known as kind and gentle people who were strong and resilient.

When she was 23, Delia immigrated to Ticonderoga, New York with her sister May. Their departure from Ireland had been delayed because of World War II. I once asked Delia if she was bored while she was waiting to get her visa. She looked at me like I was crazy.

“Mary, on a farm back then there was so much work to be done we were never bored.” Then she sighed. Hard times were always at the back of Delia’s mind – even when things were going well.

Delia and May (who was a big part of Delia’s life until she passed away in 1981) came to live with an aunt and uncle in Ticonderoga, a small town of 5,000 people 240 miles from New York City.

The relatives were kind and there was no shortage of jobs – the sisters worked at the local hospital, and the Utica sheet factory, and did night and weekend babysitting – but Ticonderoga wasn’t New York, and that’s where Delia and May wanted to be.

As luck would have it, a woman May babysat for, offered her a full time position in Manhattan. May said she’d take the job if she could bring her sister.

“Bring your sister and we’ll find something for her as well,” came the answer.

Delia became a live-in nanny to Barbara Tuchman’s two children. (Mrs. Tuchman was a famous author and historian). The Tuchmans were very nice to her. So nice that in the summer when the family went on vacation, Delia went with them. Mr. Tuchman would

M

112 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

drive Delia to church, wait for her outside and drive her home again.

But kind as the Tuchmans were, Delia found living-in confining. She got herself a job at the Barbizon Plaza Hotel on Central Park South (the first music-art residence in the U.S.) Throughout their lives Delia and May had a great fondness for the hotel and the many friends they met there.

Delia didn’t know how to break the news to the Tuchmans that she was leaving, so she left in the dead of night without telling them.

Once they were settled in New York, the sisters did all the things that Irish singles did back then – Gaelic Park on Sundays for the games, and the Jaeger House for dances. Their lives mirrored the song, “When New York was Irish.”

It was a time when boys and girls from Galway and Mayo, and all over Ireland, came out to stay and take on a new life in America. (There was no pining for the old country for Delia, who took to America with gusto and always said she loved New York City.)

Soon, Delia met Dan Shea from Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry. They married in 1954, had four children – myself, Anne, Pat and Tom – and lived on 97th Street in Manhattan.

We all have very fond memories of that time in the city with Delia and Dan. We remember the weekly trip to the A&P with Delia, pulling the cart home and bringing all the groceries up four flights of stairs; the yearly trip to 14th Street to get the Easter outfits (for some reason in our house, Easter was bigger than Christmas); the yearly trip to 116th Street for the Christmas presents. The picnics in Central Park — and the Sunday afternoon trips to the bar that Dad owned.

Ours was a happy house. We never had a baby sitter and Delia was always at the door to greet us when we returned

home from school.

After I moved to San Francisco, Delia’s house was always a place for me, my husband Tom, and our children, Neil, Jenny and Julie, to come home to.

Delia had a great capacity for friendship, and made many friends throughout her life – Nancy Foye, Bridie Downing, Kitty O’Dea, Margaret Houghton, Mary Nolan, Bridie Stundon and Mary Raftery. I could go on with names, but suffice it to say 71 E. 97th Street was a building with 24 apartments, 20 of which were Irish occupied.

After 15 wonderful years we left 97th Street and moved to Woodside, Queens.

(Dan bought his first bar in 1961 and owned, over the course of his life, nine bars – eight in Queens). Delia got a parttime job working for John, a fabric supplier. She stayed there for 15 years and retired at 65. John did not want her to leave.

Delia began to travel – mainly trips with the Franciscans to various religious shrines. She most notably went to Jerusalem. We all have strong memories of this trip because she came back laden with T-shirts emblazoned with either “Jerusalem” or a Star of David. They were cheap.

Nowadays, there’s a big push on about recycling. Delia was ahead of the curve. We almost never bought it, so we didn’t need to recycle it. If we did buy something, it was always reused – including wax paper and aluminum foil.

While thrifty, Delia was extremely generous with her time. She washed and ironed my sister Anne’s nursing uniforms for years. She made many a family dinner. She enjoyed having her grandchildren for sleepovers. There was nothing Delia liked better than sitting on a park bench. Minding her grandkids gave her the opportunity to do just that.

Though she was industrious, Delia

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“Delia was a woman of strong character who had a great capacity for giving. ” always rushed through housework. We used to joke that her motto was “Hurry up so we can sit down and do nothing.”

Six years ago, Delia began to develop Alzheimer’s, which grew progressively worse. Our brother Pat became her caretaker, and Delia was able to stay in her own home. While Pat was the linchpin, it takes a village. Delia’s village included her son Tom, his wife Cathy, and their now grown children, Shanna, Kristie, Veronica and Daniel; and Anne, her husband Sean Flynn and their boys, Sean, Brendan and Brian. And in her last year, a wonderful caregiver, Lorelei Fitzgerald.

Anne was always only a phone call away and she stopped by to see mother several times a week. Sean Flynn was always there for any handyman duties. The Flynn boys were always available for rides and visits. Tom Shea, even though he lived over 60 miles away, came once a week.

Cathy and the girls and Danny helped tremendously with Delia and Dan (who passed away last February at age 90), lightening the load on Pat. And Lorelei was there every weekday to give a hand.

Delia was much loved, and the environment that her family created for her in her final years gave testament to that. She was a perfect mother and that is not an exaggeration. She was a woman of strong character who had a great capacity for giving of herself; everything good in life we have learned from her.

We will miss her always.

– Submitted by Mary (Shea) Hunt, San Francisco, California

Delia and May, on Delia’s wedding day.

Inset: Delia in 1985 with her good friends, clockwise from top left: Nancy Foye, Kitty O’Dea (holding Delia’s grandson Sean Flynn, Jr.), Bridie Downing, Delia’s daughter Mary, Delia, and Kathleen Gorman.

Please send photographs along with your name, address, phone number, and a brief description, to Sheila Langan at Irish America, 875 Sixth Avenue, Suite 201, New York, NY 10001.

If photos are irreplaceable, then please send a good quality reproduction or e-mail the picture at 300 dpi resolution to submit@irishamerica.com. No photocopies, please. We will pay $65 for each submission that we select.

DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 IRISH AMERICA 113

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{the last word}

By Dr.Valerie O’Brien and Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao

Irish-American Adoptions:

Is It Time to Have a Gathering?

Philomena shines a light on an aspect of Irish life in need of urgent attention.

T

he movie Philomena, based on Philomena Lee’s real-life search for her son who was adopted by an American family, highlights the issue of the many clandestine adoptions of Irish children by U.S. families, and the complicity of religious orders and government and church hierarchy in those unethical and often illegal adoptions.

The stories of these children have been both ‘known’ and ‘unknown’ in Ireland, where for generations communities turned a blind eye to the goings-on.

Previous to Philomena (based on the 2009 investigative book by BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith), Mike Milotte’s 1997 book Banished Babies caused an uproar with his claim that at least 2,400 Irish children were adopted by U.S. families in the period from early 1940’s to early 1970’s.

Many of those children are now in their 50s and 60s, and time is running out for their birth mothers who are now elderly.

(Philomena Lee just turned 80.)

We know that many of the adopted people have been searching for their Irish families and likewise, mothers have been searching for their children. We know too, as in Philomena’s case, that often times their entreaties for information have been met with silence.

As the movie makes clear, the stories of the adoptions were invariably linked with unplanned pregnancies (also abundantly clear from the film is how naive many of these girls were about sexual matters). Young women in Ireland who found themselves in the “family way” at that time, had very limited options. For most, the condition and its attendants; sin, shame and secrecy, meant banishment to one of several Mother and Baby Homes, which were run by different religious orders in Bessborough, Co. Cork; Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath; Stamullen, Co. Meath; St. Patrick’s in Dublin; and the Sean Ross Abbey, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary,

which features in Philomena’s story.

These homes may have provided a lifeline for some girls, but for others, as depicted in the film, their experiences were characterized by trauma, humiliation, fear, and enslavement.

The pain of childbirth was seen as God’s punishment for their sins, as was the resulting exile. Rarely were these girls acknowledged by their families again, or by the communities in which they had lived and become pregnant.

(Interestingly, the fathers of the babies seem never to have entered the picture).

In the movie, Philomena and the other young mothers work seven days a week in the laundry, and are allowed to see their children for one hour a day.

In Philomena’s case her son is threeand-a-half years old when he is adopted by an American couple. They leave before she gets a chance to say goodbye. This appears to have been the norm.

Speaking at a screening of the movie in New York, the real-life Philomena said that the only way to leave the home was to sign over your child for adoption and/or pay 100 pounds to the convent, an untenable sum at the time.

No doubt, for many of the children placed with American families, the outcome was positive, but the manner in which these adoptions occurred raises a lot of questions.

We know that the religious orders created a record for each Irish child sent abroad, and that the children traveled on Irish passports using their birth names, and issued by the relevant Irish authorities.

The children were adopted in the U.S. following their arrival, which means that in at least some cases documentation with the child’s original name exists.

Those lucky enough to have access to adoption papers showing their birth names generally are able to access information and resources both in Ireland and in the U.S.

However, those who do not know their birth name face particular challenges in dealing with institutions, a position compounded if they were adopted in one of the U.S. states that continues to seal adoption records. Then there are those whose real names were misrepresented on official documents, and unraveling the truth in these instances is particularly hard.

Philomena is a shocking reminder of pain that still endures. In order for healing to begin, the Irish government should step forward. There are complexities, but search and reunion is a topic that needs decisive action and resolution.

A number of government departments and religious organizations are involved, and an urgent coordinated approach, involving all parties, is required. As a start, the adopted person’s difficult task of searching out their origins should be actively facilitated by Irish agencies, and all legal impediments to accessing information should be removed.

As the Year of the Gathering draws to a close, we need to make sure that all of the people involved in the Irish American adoptions are assisted in getting to the point of their own “Gathering.”

Knowing who you are is a basic human right. The time has surely come to open up the stories of Irish-American IA adoptions.

Note: Dr. Valerie O’Brien, University College Dublin (valerie.obrien@ucd.ie), and Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao, Harvard/Boston (kinnect@gmail.com), have been involved in researching this topic since 2010. They are particularly focusing on how the past can help inform current and future inter-country adoption practices. Of specific interest is the fact that, 40 years after the Irish practice ceased, American children are now being adopted into Ireland.

“Knowing who you are is a basic human right.

The time has surely come to open up the stories of Irish-American adoptions.”

114 IRISH AMERICA DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

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Cheers

The Coca-Cola Company congratulates the 2013 Irish America Business 100 Honorees

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