Roddy Doyle is an internationally bestselling writer and winner of the 1993 Booker Prize for the novel Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. His first three novels-The Commitments, The Snapper, and The Van-are known as The Barrytown Trilogy. Doyle will read from and sign his eagerly anticipated new novel The Dead Republic, the triumphant conclusion to the trilogy that includes A Star Called Henry and Oh, Play That Thing. Raucous, colorful, epic, and full of intrigue and incident, The Dead Republic is also a moving love story-the magnificent final act in the life of one of Roddy Doyle’s most unforgettable characters, Henry Smart.Roddy Doyle will be at the Tattered Cover Book Store 1628 16th Street Denver, CO 80202 (303-322-1965 ext: 2736 ) Monday May 10, 7:30 pm.The Celtic Connection”s Mary McWay Seaman interviewed Doyle by email in Ireland last month)Interview…MMS Congratulations on your new novel, The Dead Republic, the third of a trilogy. How did you decide to set Henry Smart up with legendary characters like John Ford and Henry Fonda on a California landscape?RD Thank you. As I was finishing the first volume, A Star Called Henry, I knew that Henry would be leaving Ireland and going to America, and I knew that I”d need an excuse to bring him back to Ireland, for the third volume, The Dead Republic.I”d read a biography of a veteran of the Irish War of Independence, called Ernie O”Malley. The biography included the fascinating, almost absurd, detail that O”Malley had assisted John Ford in the making of The Quiet Man, and was credited as the “IRA Consultant”. So, I thought, “I”ll make Henry the IRA consultant.” Then I had to come up with a way for them to meet. Ford made many films in the desert, so I sent Henry to the desert. MMS Have you ever personally suffered what Henry did by editorial attempts to sentimentalize some of your work? If so, how did you fight back?RD Never. MMS Please tell us a bit about your research in preparation for this book. RD A lot of reading ” biographies of Ford, Wayne and anyone who seemed close to Ford, books about the making of The Quiet Man ” anything at all that might give me a glimpse of the people or the weather or the setting, both in Los Angeles and Ireland. I stared at photographs, watched a lot of movies ” never a hardship. I researched and read as I wrote, added little details if I thought they”d add to the story. Henry returns to Ireland in the early “50s, and the closer he got to Dublin ” my home ” and my time ” I was born in 1958 ” the less research I had to do. He was wandering my streets ” and my head!MMS So many characters, so many backgrounds! How do you prepare for the assortment of voices and their testimonies? RD Again, reading helps, trying to find words that characters might have used in their own particular ways. For example, Henry meets Louis Armstrong in Oh Play That Thing, the second volume. Armstrong carried a typewriter everywhere he went, for years. He left behind two memoirs and thousands of letters. He used the word “nice” a lot. It”s usually a bland word but, in his hands and from his mouth, it was lively and funny. So, I took that word and made him use it in the novel. Getting to know the characters and their distinctive rhythms and words is a gradual process, and very slow at first, until I feel I know them. MMS Does the 1974 Dublin bombing act as a turning point? How was Henry changed other than physically?  RD I suppose it is. Henry is caught in the bomb and its aftermath, and his name becomes public ” so the IRA finds him, and uses him for the rest of the book. Also, the bombs wakes him. He becomes aware again about the Troubles in the North, that there seems to be unfinished business, that the trouble didn”t end just because he left Ireland in 1922. MMS Has the Celtic Tiger bitten into Ireland”s strong regional and cultural differences? Please share some observations.  RD I”m sick of even seeing the term “Celtic Tiger”, let alone thinking about it. That”s an honest observation, by the way. MMS Who are your favorite authors and why? What daily reading do you do? RD Dickens. I”ve been reading and re-reading his books every decade of my life, and they seem to get better. Philip Roth ” I love his anger and his brilliance, and he makes me laugh like no other writer has ever done. MMS Favorite music? Favorite food? Favorite drink?  RD The last few days I”ve been listening to Joy Division, Galaxie 500, Gil Scott Heron, and an Icelandic composer, Johan Johannson. I don”t have a favourite food; it”s not something I get worked up about ” unless I”m hungry. A pint of Guinness, occasionally, and a cup of coffee, almost constantly. MMS Please tell us about your early education and how you came to be a writer.  RD I don”t remember much about my early education. I was only a kid and I didn”t take notes. I started writing because I loved reading. MMS Favorite travel destination?RD I was in India earlier this year. I”ll go back. MMS Ireland is so different today from when I first visited in the 1980s. What is your favorite place in Ireland (besides home)?RD Dublin is the best place on Earth, and Ireland is lucky to have it. I like Wexford,  in the south-east. It”s friendly, relatively rain-free ” and near Dublin.MMS It seems that Ireland”s privations of the past are completely lost on young people. Is this a good thing? RD I wouldn”t want to inflict privation on young people just because they”re young.MMS Do you think that former Irish rebels are still admired and revered as heroes? RD Yes. MMS What is your opinion on the decline of print media? Will it level off or continue to slide? RD I honestly don”t know the answer to this question. But my gut tells me it will level off. Too many people like the smell and the feel of books ” there”ll always be a market. MMS What differences do you notice between the Irish and the Americans? (cultural, social, philosophical ” that sort of thing.) RD Sorry, there are several books in this subject.MMS What are the best and worst parts of book tours? RD The best part is the reading events. The worst part is the almost daily early  morning flights, and loneliness.THANK YOU!(from May 2020 Celtic Connection)

In 1995, Father John Pahls, an Episcopal priest, third-generation County El Paso native and a weaver, designed the pattern that became the Colorado Tartan. On January 1, 1997, the Scottish Register of Tartans accepted it as a “district” tartan that may be worn by any resident or friend of Colorado, whether or not of Celtic heritage; on March 3, 1997, the Colorado General Assembly passed a resolution adopting it as the official tartan of the State of Colorado and designated July 1 as Colorado Tartan Day. After passage of that resolution (making Colorado only the second state in the nation to have its own tartan), it was also registered with the International Association of Tartan Studies. Father Pahls was inspired by the colors of those things that are uniquely Colorado; the blue of the skies, the green of the pine and spruce trees, the lavender and white of the mountains and their snowcaps and the colors of the columbine. The gold represents the mineral wealth that helped build the state and red the sandstone soil and rocks that give the state its name. Even though the official State day is July 1, the Colorado Tartan Day Council, an auxiliary group of the St. Andrew Society has been observing it in the spring for the past eleven years to coincide with National Tartan day on April 6.This year, the celebration will be held on Saturday, April 10th from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. in McIlvoy Park in Olde Town Arvada at Ralston Road and Upham Street where there will be performances by pipe bands, Mulligan Stew, the Rocky Mountain Highland Dancers, Moriarty/Moffit Irish Dancers, and the Ren-Scots and Castle Wall Productions, historical re-enactment groups. There will be booths with vendors offering Celtic merchandise including Thistle and Shamrock, Gilded Dragon and Calico Custom Jewelry, a magician, face painter, caricature artist and others. In addition to the Colorado Tartan, attendees will also be able to see the tartans of over 20 Scottish clans ranging from Clan Campbell to Clan Wallace at their booths.Other activities will include a Highland tea and silent auction in Bread Winners at 12:30 P.M. (rumor has it that the tea will be served by kilted-gentlemen”) and a tasting conducted by Master of Whisky Robert Sickler at 3:00 P.M.The evening will be capped off by dinner and a ceildh at the Arvada Elks Lodge just east of the Park with entertainment from Gobs O”Phun at 5:30 P.M., a kitchen pipe band competition at 7:00 P.M. and to wrap up the night, a grand set by Angus Mohr at 8:00.Admission to the park and activities there is free. Tickets will be required for the other events and may be purchased online at a discount from the price paid at the door for each event. Funds raised will be used to support the activities of the Colorado Tartan Day Council.For more information and to order tickets, please go to www.coloradotartanday.com .

Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and AOH will present Ciaran Staunton, co-founder and President of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR), in Denver Thursday March 4th where he will speak to Irish-Irish Americans and friends about the mission of ILIR. Staunton”s talked is designed to be educational and not political and invites all to attend who have an interest in Irish in America and future Irish immigration. His talk will take place at 7pm at Delaney”s/Celtic Tavern at 18th and Blake in downtown Denver.According to Staunton, “We have 50,000 undocumented Irish immigrants in the United States, tens of thousands more trying to leave the mass unemployment lines in Ireland. “No Irish Need Apply” hangs at U.S immigration.”Ciaran Staunton is a native of Westport County Mayo. He is the owner of O’Neill’s Bar and Restaurant, one of the most popular hostelries in Manhattan. Ciaran was a co-founder of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement in the late 1980s which lobbied successfully for the Donnelly and Morrison visa schemes.He played a major part in the American role in the peace process and worked closely with the Sinn Fein leadership and Irish American leaders to bring about the Adams visa and the IRA ceasefire. He lives in Queens with his wife Orlaith and son Rory and daughter Kathleen. www.IrishLobbyUSA.orgCiaran Staunton, Irish Lobby for Immigration ReformThursday March 4th @ 7:00PMRSVP to RSVP  or 303-668-8278Delaney”s/Celtic Tavern, 18th and Blake, Downtown Denver303-308-1795

(printed in Dec 09 Celtic Connection newspaper)”For those to whom much has been given, much is expected.” said Kevin McNicholas, who is more apt to give you a humorous one liner or a few words of wisdom than expound on details, especially when the topic is himself. Wife Mary is his opposite compliment, who, as the old Irish saying goes “would talk the teeth out of a saw” and would not hesitate to give you the full story, particularly when giving accolades to her husband.As owners of the very successful Denver based K-M Concessions and sister businesses that provide food, beverage, and visitor services to zoos, aquariums, sports and entertainment venues in Colorado and around the U.S., you”d think that the days would be busy enough for the McNicholas ” But, somehow they are able to give an extraordinary amount of time back to their Community and help people regardless of background or station in life. Mary explained, “Kevin”s company continued to grow and with that we were always taught to give back, so charity work came easy for us.” and added, “There are so many organizations that Kevin and I have worked for or he has served on the board, that we can”t mention without forgetting someone and they are all dear to our hearts.” And heartfelt the McNicholas intentions are– Mary tells a story about her affable straight talking husband who sometimes has more than a twinkle in his eyes. “We did a birthday party for Catholic Charities Foster Kids at the Denver Zoo and one 9 yr. old asked if he could take a piece of cake home because he had never had a party before and wanted to “save this forever!” You should have seen the tears in Kevin”s eyes.” The McNicholas”s have three grown children, oldest son Sean has a Masters in Technology and Business from DU and works for the family company along with sister Shannon who taught history high school in Chicago for two years before returning to Denver. The youngest in the family, Shannon danced with the Wick School of Irish Dancing for 13 years and still won”t miss a beat when called upon for a reel or gig. Independent middle child Brendan Patrick strayed into Communications which he received a degree in from CU. After working in Sports Information at the University he moved on to the Colorado Rockies and presently works for the Colorado Avalanche where he is Director of Media Services/Internet. Mother Mary said that the lesson of giving back has been passed on to her kids, “The children always pitched in with the Community Service. Our son Sean created a excel check out program for me and to this day we still help non profits do their auctions and use three lap tops to quickly check out buyers.” Both Kevin and Mary have an appreciation for family and their rich Irish heritage.Kevin”s dad came to America by himself from Donoughmore Parish, Ballybofey, Donegal, Ireland in the early 1900 to work the mines in Central City. When they dried up, Kevin”s dad Rickard Patrick McNicholas came to Denver where he met his wife Helen Pollack a 5th generation Coloradoan who hailed from the mining town of Silver Plum. In Denver, Kevin”s dad worked for the Denver Treasury Department and his mom was a devoted volunteer at St. Joseph”s Church and allowed herself one high ball a night of Jamison”s Irish Whiskey until her death at the age of 82. Kevin grew up in West Denver where he attended St. Josephs Catholic Schools and can remember fondly celebrating St. Patrick”s Day with his cousins, aunts, uncles from his early years to when he eventually took over the celebration where close to 100 relatives and friends are treated to corned beef, cabbage, with all the trimmings, at the Beef Palace Restaurant at National Western Complex , a facility managed by K-M Concessions.Mary mom”s family came over from County Meath, Ireland in the late 1800s.Great Grandpa Peter Collins was married to Bridget McIntyre who was born in Belfast. Peter was a black smith and made his way to Joliet, Illinois. Peter and Bridget had 8 children who were all musically inclined. One of the children, Mary”s grandma, Katherine Collins Hoffman, was a famous pianist who travelled the world accompanying famous opera singer Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink.Brother Edward Collins, became a renowned American composer who wrote his music in the Chicago home of Oscar Meyer, his father-in-law as he was married to Frieda Meyer until his death in 1951. It wasn”t until 1989 that Edward”s music was resurrected by the Chicago Symphony, who played songs like “Irish Rhapsody” and” Hibernia” that he wrote during the Great Depression. “A few years ago we were fortunate enough to hear his music played by our Colorado Symphony under the direction of Maestra Marin Alsop” said Mary.Mary”s Grandfather Frank, practiced in the same law firm as Grover Cleveland in New York after he was admitted to the bar in 1877. Frank then went on to help with the Dakota Territory Processing and was elected Mayor of Big Stone City, SD. As that area became more settled, he moved on to St. Paul, Minnesota where he met and married Mary”s grandma Noni Towle.”Grandmother Noni Towle came over from Belfast, Ireland where her father in 1892 started the Log Cabin Syrup and the little word “Towle” you see on the log cabin cans was my grandma”s maiden name.”  Grandpa Frank and Grandma Noni took their trust from the Log Cabin Products and started the Hilex Bleach Company for their seven sons. One of these sons was Mary”s dad, John Deloss Eldredge, who grew up in St. Paul in the Catholic Schools and played hockey at Notre Dame University. Upon his return to St. Paul he met Mary Katherine Collins. After they married he went to work for the Hilex Company with his brothers. After the first six children my dad took the company to Dallas where Mary & 5 more siblings was born and learned her first Irish Step Dancing as there was a big Irish community in Dallas. Attracted to Denver”s climate to help Mary”s dad”s health issues, he moved the family and business to the Mile High city where the Hilex Company flourished until his death in 1970 when the family sold it to Sinclair Company. Mary recalled, “My mother continued raising us 11 children and playing the piano that she had studied at St. Catherine”s College in Minnesota — she could play an outstanding rendition of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Song. My mother Katy died of Alzheimer”s but never missed a St. Patrick”s celebration including the year she died on March 24th.” After getting her degree from Colorado State College ” now University of Northern Colorado,Mary went on to become a Physical Education Teacher and Coach in the Catholic Schools.(Mary continues to coach tennis today ” over the past 40 years Mary been involved in some teaching or coaching of sports, and is she”s credited for starting several sports leagues, including East Denver Soccer.)It was during this time that Mary and Kevin met at the Ninth Hole Restaurant in Cherry Creek when the owner introduced them. After embarrassing Mary by singing “I Want to Be Teacher”s Pet” while walking across the dance floor on his knees, Mary took to the door without saying goodby. Kevin missed on his initial shot, but scored points on the rebound. He didn”t know Mary”s last name nor phone number, but did know she taught at St. Johns. He called the school and told the principal he had a sports order that needed to be cleared up by Mary. Mary fell for it, “When I answered the phone he said he had tickets to “Jesus Christ Superstar” so I wouldn”t turn him down. He did his homework as I was dying to see that musical in Boulder.”Kevin and Mary McNicholas were married in November of 1972 in a chapel in the Abbey at Benedictine College, Kevin”s alma mater. No one has ever been married there as the monks have an understanding with Atchison, KS archdiocese to keep weddings in those churches. But apparently Kevin developed his unassuming charm and people skills by the time he left collegeand was able to talk two Irish monks into sneaking Kevin and Mary into the chapel and married them on the Friday after Thanksgiving when no one was around. “It is still a great joke when we go back there as Kevin has served as the President of the Board and given speeches to the Business School and everyone laughs when they hear the story.”Over the years the McNicholas have been recognized often by their community fordemonstrating character, good values and ethics, and caring and working with others without prejudice. It would be lengthy to list all, but remiss to exclude some of accolades that help define the amazing McNicholas family. A few recognitions included the Humanitarian Award from the American Ireland Fund that Kevin received with co-honoree Sen. George Mitchell, Daniel E. Ritchie “Colorado Ethics in Business Award”, and Induction into the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame.These awards can be traced back to Kevin”s simple and solid business philosophy of integrity exemplified by Kevin in 1997 when he formed K-M Concessions and made a “hand-shake” agreement with then Denver Broncos coach Lou Saban, and Denver Bears GM Jim Burris to sell programs, souvenirs, and provide catering in the press box. This hand-shake agreement lasted over two decades. He has since often reminded his staff, “A deal has got to be good for both parties; if not, you’ll only enter into it once.” and “Make your clients priorities your priorities”Mary has received The Art Reach Volunteer of the Year Award, and both Kevin and Mary were honored with the Distinguished Graduate Award by the National Catholic Education Association; Rocky Mountain MS Humanitarian Award; and last year the whole family received the 2008 Torch of Liberty Award from the Anti Defamation League as a tribute for donating scholarships for many students. The McNicholas schedule would be tiring for must people to look at, much less do. As the business expands around the country and they continue to answer their community”s call with genuine interest and down-home sense of humor. “My favorite, said Mary, “is when Kevin comes and helps us Christmas Carol at Assisted Living Homes and he imitates Miss Piggy”s “Five Golden Rings” 

(printed in Dec 09 Celtic Connection newspaper)Dear Friends,I welcome the opportunity to extend my warmest greetings to members of the Irish Community and to all people of Irish Heritage as we approach the holy season of Christmas. It is a great privilege for me to represent Ireland here in the Western United States, an area with such a uniquely warm and rich relationship with Ireland, and also, an area with such a welcoming Irish Community 2009 has been a difficult year for many of you, and as it draws to a close we can hopefully look forward with optimism to a brighter 2010, with the much hoped for economic upturn, and the possibility of new employment for those who have joined the unemployment lines in the past year. Within our community here, 2009 will also be remembered for the remarkable steadfastness and spirit which the Irish community demonstrated in the support for the less fortunate, the older and more marginalized members of our Irish Family. The generosity of the Irish people towards those in need can only be described as quite remarkable. Our Community also continues to support and advocate on the behalf of the undocumented Irish, and hopefully 2010 will bring about some much needed movement in addressing their plight. As the holiday season approaches our thoughts also turn to family and friends at home in Ireland and elsewhere in the World. We will, of course, also remember our loved ones who are no longer with us, when we come together at family gatherings to celebrate Christmas.On behalf of Vice Consul, Barry O”Brien and all my colleagues at the Irish Consulate, I wish you, one and all, a happy and peaceful Christmas.Beannachta” na Nollag agus na hAthbhliana Best wishes for the Festive SeasonGerry Staunton