Only 132 Irish applicants were chosen last year mainly because so few people knew how to apply for it.The application period ends noon on Dec 1 but applicants are advised to apply now as the online system has been prone to crashes in the closing days.People who were born in Ireland and Northern Ireland are eligible to apply whereas people who were born in Britain are not eligible.Applications must be made at www.dvlottery.state.govThis is the ONLY official site. The program is free (if a website asks you for money it is not the official website.)Interested applicants can also visit their local TD, Senator or councillor’s office for help applying.

(Editors note: In the next couple of months The Celtic Connection will spotlight the bellwethers of the reels and roots music heard up and down the Rocky Mountains. These men and women donate not only their time “on air”, but also the many hours needed to prepare each show. Perpetuating traditions of excellence through their love of music they bring to you a variety of music, from dusting off a long lost golden oldie to introducing you to new contemporary sounds.  The series begins with Karl Kumli who hosts the Seolta Gael show on KGNU out of Boulder, Colorado. By day Karl is an attorney at Dietze and Davis, P.C. His practice emphasizes primarily public utility law and water law. He currently is President-Elect of the Boulder County Bar Association and involved with way too many more groups and associations for a mere mortal. On top of it all he is a family man. We asked Karl if he preferred to by interviewed or he could submit his own words.People who know Karl know that he does not lack the gift of the gab. He says he is not Irish ” you be the judge…
Best, Pat M.)Alright Pat, in keeping with the political season, I”d like to make the painful disclosures first. Genetically speaking, I”m not Irish. Not Scottish either. Nor Welsh, Manx, Breton, or Galician. I was born Italian and Swiss, but raised as a very traditional Irish Catholic (my first school was Incarnate Word Academy).In 1962 my family was living in a small apartment. Jack Kennedy was at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I was attending St. Rose Elementary School. And my dad had fallen headlong into the folk music revolution that was sweeping the country. At our place, the old 33-and-a-third rpm LPs were constantly played on a scratchy phonograph. I remember four of them in particular. The first was a multi-record set called “Folk Songs and Minstrelsy,” which featured Tommy Makem singing, “The Cobbler.” Its infectious chorus was just the sort of lilting that is easily memorized by a six year old, oblivious to the ghoulish subject matter of the song. The second was the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem album “Hearty and Hellish.” I knew every song on that album by heart before I entered second grade at St. Rose.St. Rose was just about the epitome of a parochial school of the day. The pastor was Fr. Patrick Mulligan; the associate was Fr. Jerome Dooley and the nuns (Sisters of St. Joseph of Newark) were strict devotees of the penguin school of fashion design. To my six year old ears it seemed every priest or nun I”d ever met was from Ireland. And in those days the Catholic liturgy was still in Latin. I made the obvious connection at that time that people who spoke with a brogue must have done so because they were clergy and had a “Latin accent.” St. Rose had three major holidays: Christmas, Easter and St. Patrick”s Day. All the kids from first grade on learned some sort of a simple reel or set dance as part of the St. Patrick”s Day festivities, which were held in the school gym under Fr. Mulligan”s watchful eye.Fast forward to the early 1970s. We had a young priest at our parish named Simon Twomey. Fr. Simon is a big Kerryman from Killarney. And back in the day he was wicked-cool. It was Simon who turned me on to the Chieftains, the Dubliners and the Wolfe Tones. With that music ringing in my ears I left for college in 1974. And at that point I began to get more serious about my infatuation with Celtic music. I took a year of Irish Gaelic. I learned a little bit of step dancing and set dancing. I began frequenting the bars and halls where the music was played. And then I got into radio.Beginning in 1975 I was hired as a summer replacement DJ for a small network of radio stations in Washington State. There I did everything from pulling a six hour air shift, to commercial production, to reading news, to emptying the trash (as the last guy out of the station at night when we went off the air at night). I played some country, some top 40 and most of all, rock “n” roll. It was heaven.Fast forward again to St. Patrick”s Day 1982. I”d just moved to Boulder and called the local public radio station, the blessed KGNU, wondering whether they”d be playing Celtic music on March 17th. No, I was told, they didn”t have anyone who was familiar with the genre. My own Celtic record collection (this was still before CDs or MTV) had grown beyond a few dozen by this point. I offered to come in and do a show.  ”Probably not,” I was informed. After all, “you”d have to have a radio license [still a requirement in those days] to pull an air shift.””But I do have a license,” I replied.And twenty-six years later, it”s still happening. The show has grown and changed right along with the station. It is now part of a World Music series on KGNU called Musica Mundi. I seldom play vinyl anymore ” though the thought of an all-vinyl show is really beginning to take shape in my head. We do lots more live music than in the old days, as KGNU”s new studios are wonderful for that kind of live on-air concert. And we have amazing live show engineers in Fergus Stone and George Figgs. We still do every show live on the air, but the program is also webcast, and is available via podcast for two weeks after it airs.The playlist? Widely varied ” or at least I want it to be. We try to play music from all over ” the Seven Nations and all their progeny ” the Celtic Diaspora (the States, Canada, Australia, Germany and beyond). We try to mix trad (both vocal and instrumental) with Celtic rock, or the rock and jazz influenced stuff. “Within the Celtic continuum, you might hear a range from the good old Clancy Brothers, The Dubliners and Clannad to Flogging Molly, The Dropkick Murphys and Black 47. “Plethyn, Robin Huw Bowen, Dervish, Lunasa, Capercaillie, Old Blind Dogs, Silly Wizard, Poor Clares, Altan, Cherish the Ladies, Great Big Sea, Natalie McMaster, The Chieftains, The Elders and many more make appearances as well. “Guests appear regularly, both via phone and in studio, where the list has ranged from The Chieftains (Paddy Moloney and Matt Molloy), Kevin Burke, to local favorites Colcannon and Skean Dubh.Pat McCullough has even gotten me to abandon my original prejudice against “Danny Boy,” which I thought had become maudlin and overplayed. Of course, the fact that Pat”s incredibly talented wife, Tanya, has taught our girls to sing may have had a little to do with that, as well. In addition to the girls who”ve danced and sung, the eldest of our boys returned last year from a semester of study in Ireland, where he took courses in both the Irish language and traditional Irish music at the University of Limerick. So the Celtic knotwork continues.
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I would, however, point out that Switzerland has its own Celtic history. From about 500 B.C. to A.D. 400, several Celtic tribes, especially the Helvetians, were settled in Switzerland. So perhaps I”ve spoken unadvisedly, and am genetically Celtic after all. (Listen to Karl Kumli the first Wednesday of the month, 7-8pm, on KGNU 88.5 fm in Boulder or 1390 am Denver or online at www.kgnu.org)

Since 2000 the Denver based non-profit organization has sent over 154,000 toys to kids in 60 countries. It was that year that Marlin Dorhout and friend Ben Perri traveled to Nicaragua to work with Habitat for Humanity. The director of HH asked the two men if they would bring some toys for the kids. “We didn”t want to bring battery-operated toys,” said Dorhout, “so Ben designed these wooden cars and I had the woodworking skills and tools to make them.” When Dorhout arrived in Nicaragua he handed out 120 of his handmade wooden toys. “I became the most popular person in the village,” he said, recalling the overwhelming response that came from the happy children. “After that, I knew what I wanted to do.”Upon returning home to Denver, Dorhout officially founded the Toys for God”s Kids. He recruited a group of World War II veterans to help cut, assemble, and sand the wooden pieces and more recently has also been working with nursing homes and retirement centers to work on some of the toys. Dorhout spoke highly and often about the volunteers, “They all care about other human beings, especially children…when they see photos of those kids they feel so good about what they”re doing.”Not only is Toys for God”s Kids made up entirely of volunteers, it has no budget. Much of the wood used for the toys is scrap lumber donated by Stairs Inc. in Louisville and Masterpiece Stairs in Denver. Worldwide distribution is through relief organizations, church groups, airline pilots, soldiers ” virtually anyone or group who wants to pack a box or suitcase of the wooden treasures. Last month Dorhout was contacted by Carl Piazza of Pentagon Cargo of the Rockies who offered to ship 1260 toys to kids in the Philippines ” this month he will ship another 1800 to arrive in time for the holidays.Photos and thank-you notes are often sent to Toys for God”s Kids from around the globe by grateful social workers, children and parents – and once he even got a phone call. “The call came from Mexico – I had a hard time understanding the guy, but his daughter came home with a toy with our phone number stamped on the bottom, and he was so grateful he called to say thanks.””The feedback illustrates how little these kids have, but also how important toys are to kids,” he added as he pointed out the more obvious comparison for the need of food, clothing and medicine, “Toys make them feel special, and they can also help kids develop planning, problem-solving, and social skills.”Toys for God”s Kids goal is “to place a toy in the hand of every needy child”, and Dorhout and Co. sends toys to all parts of the world regardless of religion or political strife or differences. He gave an example of the almost 7,000 toys sent to Iraq and Afghanistan to date.”We never hold a child responsible for some silly idea their parents or leaders have,” Dorhout said with a slight smile and twinkle in his eyes, then continued in a more serious tone. “We don”t proselytize, there are volunteers who help that are not religious at all, but they”re wonderful people.” He said that he believes in God, and that the name of the organization had brought more support than obstacles. “I”m not one of zealots that say, “If you don”t believe in God you don”t count.” I have been taught that everyone is God”s child.”Dorhout, a retiree from Gates Rubber Company, spends many hours a week working to bring joy to children whom he most likely will never meet. “This is good for me too, I”m staying too busy to get bitter,” he said with a laugh. “I”m having a lot of fun, and every one of us feels very proud to be making these toys. We call ourselves the “smile makers”.”If you are interested in Toys for God”s Kids and would like to help in some way email Toys for God’s Kids or call 303-733-2284. More information is also on the internet at Toys For God’s Kids.

(Editors note: Last month The Celtic Connection began a series to spotlight the bellwethers of the reels and roots music heard up and down the Rocky Mountains. These men and women donate not only their time “on air”, but also the many hours needed to prepare each show. Perpetuating traditions of excellence through their love of music they bring to you a variety of music, from dusting off a long lost golden oldie to introducing you to new contemporary sounds.) In October, we introduced many of our readers to Karl Kumli who hosts the Seolta Gael show on KGNU out of Boulder, Colorado. This month we are spotlighting Cindy Reich who you can hear hosting the Long Acre show on KRFC 88.9 FM in Fort Collins or online at www.krffmc.org every Monday 1-3pm. She”s on Critter Patter on Thursdays and often on the Live at Lunch show.If Karl is King of Colorado”s Celtic airwaves then Cindy is without a doubt the Queen. Both have an impressive tenure on radio dating back to the 80″s. Like Karl, Cindy did not get her love of Celtic music genetically. Her ethnic make-up is primarily Native American, which she celebrates regularly, and German (she doesn”t drink beer or eat Wiener Schnitzel?). She contributes monthly to The Celtic Connection as reviewer of live and recorded music, as well as periodic interviewer for features. Her reviews and interviews have been printed in magazines here and abroad (Irish Music Magazine, Living Tradition, etc), and published in Irish newspapers around the country. Her paid job is working with horses ” judging, breeding, or teaching at a university. Because of her busy horse-judging schedule of late that takes her out of town, we did this interview through an exchange of emails. Best, Pat M.)CC: Cindy, it probably is safe to say that your two main loves/interests are horses and music. We will get into music ” but first tell us about you involvement with horses (background, judging, etc).I grew up on a family horse farm.” My mom raised Arabian horses and I have always been around them. I showed for over 30 years ” equitation, Western, English, etc.” I got started judging when I was 9 years old and in 4-H.” I judged sheep, cattle and pigs.” It taught me how to evaluate an animal”s structure.” I was in 4-H for 10 years and from there, judged for Colorado State University on both the horse and livestock judging teams. I really liked judging, so applied for my USEF (United States Equestrian Federation) card as soon as I was eligible at age 21.” I won”t tell you my age now, but I”ve had my card for several decades!!” Since they can”t get rid of me, they send me off to judge in exotic places like Brazil, Uruguay and Australia.” I have had no argument with that.CC: So how did you get turned-on to Celtic music? I got hooked on Celtic music when I heard Christy Moore on the radio in Colorado in the late 70’s.” It stopped me in my tracks (Ride On) and I went to the phone and called the station and asked who it was that was singing. About two weeks later I heard another song (Sonny’s Dream)”by the same guy and it was fabulous. I then started to look for music by Christy which was very hard to come by in those days.” I stumbled across Planxty because Christy was in it, which was a good way to start. Prior to that, I couldn’t have pointed out Ireland on a map, and other than the fact that they have great horses, I couldn’t have told you anything about the country.” Because of my intense interest in the music, I ended up living over there for a number of years and have been going over yearly for 21 years. CC: When/How Long/Why did you live in Ireland?In the late 80″s I quit my job, sold all my stuff and tried to go over there and live”Bad idea. There was a reason everyone was coming over HERE to get jobs!!Got smarter and went to do a Master”s in animal reproduction at University College Dublin in 1995.”I lived in Celbridge, County Kildare for a couple of years.” Also, in 1992 I was working at a horse farm and living in Belgium. My mom came over to visit. She had always wanted to visit Ireland, so off we went, after touring Scotland for a week. Well, my mom ended up with a detached retina on her first day in Dublin and had to have surgery at the Mater Hospital.” She couldn”t leave Ireland for 6 weeks because they had to inject an air bubble into her eye.” Was quite an experience for her staying in the public ward at the Mater. All the ladies in her room got her hooked on the Late Late Show. She became quite a fan of Gay Byrne!CC: You”ve made some good friends in the music business over the years ” hopefully you won”t alienate any of them with this answer ” can you list your top ten live music concerts/experiences?This was a great question ” really brought back great memories trying to decide!!” Sure I can”t do a top twenty???Christy Moore ” Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo, 1986 ” The Midas ClubFirst time I got to hear Christy Moore live. Kieran Goss was the opener. There is a great story to this night for another time. However, my first introduction to the music on Irish soil.Jimmy Mac Carthy – Mother Redcap”s, Liberties, Dublin” mid 90″s?Jimmy sat with a guitar and sang for over 2 1/2 hours. Nearly every song he sang was one he had written. One of the most extraordinary nights at a gig ever.Concert for Frankie ” various ” Olympia, DublinAn emotional night of music to celebrate the life and music of Frankie Kennedy after his death from cancer.” Over three hours of music from fellow Altan members, Christy Moore, Luka Bloom, Paul Brady, Mary Black, Donal Lunny, Clannad, Sharon Shannon, Liam O”Maonlai, and on and on.” Everyone then moved on to the Harcourt Hotel for an amazing session.” I left reluctantly at 6 am to go to school.Planxty ” Vicar St. Dublin ” 2004I never got a chance to see Planxty when they originally played, although I had every album.”The chance to see them play 30 years on was magic. Raised the hair on the back of my neck.” I have never seen anything like the ovation they received when they entered the hall and it only got better from there. St. Brigid”s Night, St. Brigid”s Cathedral Kildare town ” 1996(?)Wondrous night of music with Sinead O”Connor, Noirin Ni Rian, Luka Bloom, Christy Moore, Conor Byrne, Liam O”Maonlai, Jimmy Higgins, and many more. “Afterwards a mighty session with many of the above until about 4 am at a local down the street.Hughes” Pub ” behind the Four Courts in Dublin.Spent many an amazing evening there just listening to the musicians that showed up. Could be local, could be superstars. Just fabulous music.” Might have Kevin Glackin on fiddle, Brendan Begley on accordion, Conor Byrne on flute..Bewley”s, Grafton Street, Dublin Christy”s sister Eilish ran a folk club on the 3rd floor of Bewley”s for about a year or so in the mid-90″s. It only seated about 50 people and there was no mic. Saw one of the best gigs I”ve ever seen Christy Moore do there ” Unplugged!Ditto for Glen Hansard who did a completely acoustic gig. Leaving the crowd singing the chorus from “Revelate”, he gently laid his guitar down on the floor and walked out through the audience and out the door, while we all continued singing. Stunning.Harcourt Hotel, Dublin ” 1995-1997The Harcourt used to have great gigs every week on Mondays. They would do “Banjo Night” where it was all banjos with the likes of Gerry O”Connor and Eamonn Coyne and Barney MacKenna and others all playing banjo at the same time. Sounds disastrous, but twas brilliant!”There was “Fiddle Night” and “Flute Night”, etc.”Dunlewey, Co. Donegal ” Frankie Kennedy Winter School One year it snowed like crazy. Took me and a friend 6 hrs do drive from Dublin to Letterkenny. And then two more hours on to Dunlewy where we hiked through the snow to the Leisure Center on moonlit night.” Liam O” Maonlai entranced the hardy crowd who made it with harp, keyboard, voice, whistle and stories. The wind howled outside and the branches of the trees were bent double.” A true seanachie on the night.Armstrong Hall, Colorado Springs ” Christy Moore” 1990 Christy”s first and only appearance in Colorado.” Extraordinary gig. For all but ex-pats it was their first “Christy” experience. I had many seasoned gig goers tell me it was the greatest gig they ever heard”Tommy Peoples ” Lafayette, Colorado A very rare appearance by Tommy in Colorado. The hall was completely silent as Tommy played and the music wrapped everyone in a cloud of wonder on the night. Going-away gig ” Ferryman pub, Dublin docks After finishing my degree at UCD, I was returning to Colorado. A few friends organized a farewell session” Conor Byrne, Eilish Moore, Luka Bloom, Glen Hansard, Liam O”Maonlai and others played a magnificent session with other pub goers joining in until the wee hours of the morning. Made it very hard to get on a plane and leave such a place.Hill of Allen, County Kildar.The path up the Hill of Allen was lit by burning tapers at 6am on a cold February morning. As the sun rose, Luka Bloom and others serenaded the group of people at the top before heading out on a ten-mile famine walk.” An instance where you really understood the connection between song and place.That”s more than ten, but if I don”t stop now, it will be the top fifty!” I also want to note that while a lot of these gigs contained “names” in the industry, there were hundreds of phenomenal sessions and gigs I went to with extraordinary musicians and singers who remain nameless but were every bit as phenomenal as the better-known musicians.CC: Wow, some great memories Cindy, and we know that you have hundreds more. We”ll have to expound in future issues of The Celtic Connection ” or maybe you should just write a book!CC: You have seen many live shows ” name a few bands that you have not seen live that are on your “to do” list?For sure, Damien Dempsey, Roisin Elsafty, Karine Polwart, Lau, Beoga.CC: What has been playing on your CD of late?Stuff I have to review for a certain paper I know in Denver!” The work never stops. However, I”m really looking forward to the new Guggenheim Grotto!CC: How did you become a DJ on the radio?I sort of fell into radio by complaining!” I was living in C.Springs and they had a Celtic show on KRCC every Saturday and Sunday evening.” Obviously, some d.j. who really wanted to do a rock show got stuck with the Celtic show.” It used to make me mental, because she would announce the wrong names for tunes played and mispronounce the names of songs and groups. The one that put me over the top was when she announced a song by “Boys of the Low-ugh” (Boys of the Lough, pronounced “lock”). When I went in to pay my membership premium during fundraising, I complained about the person, because she obviously didn’t care about the music and was not doing it any favors.” “Can you do better”? was the reply.” “We have a volunteer training class coming up”.” I replied that I had never done it before, but I couldn’t possibly do worse than the person doing it at the time.” I got the job. Sure, why wouldn’t I?” It was a volunteer position. When I took a paying job on a ranch near Westcliffe, I used to drive over the mountain”every weekend to do the show and even did a number of Ft. Collins/Colorado Springs runs to do the show.”CC: So how long have you been doing the radio gig?I’ve been doing a radio show weekly on a regular basis for 11 years (Colorado Springs, Ft. Collins). Have done it off and on for another 10 ” I started in 1987 at KRCC in Colorado Springs. Did a live weather report for Radio Kerry in Killarney and did an on-air try out for a pirate station in Dublin ” they wanted to hire me, but I didn’t have a reliable way to get there when I was living in Ireland. No car and couldn’t get bus for the late night shift… I”ve been presenting “The Long Acre” show now for 5 1/2 years on KRFC (Fort Collins) That”s www.krfcfm.org at 1-3pm for everyone reading this, although I”d never use this forum to advertise my show””.CC: I detect a smiley face with a wink! You are welcome to flog your great show on KRFC anytime ” folks would be wise to check it out.CC: You”ve had a slew of special guests on your shows, can you give us a taste?Guests that have been on the shows over the years, either live or via phone ” Christy Moore, Luka Bloom, Niamh Parsons, Liam O’Maonlai, Glen Hansard, Damien Dempsey, Martin Hayes, PJ Curtis, Nicolas Carolan (curator of Irish Traditional Music archive), Susan McKeown, Phil Coulter, Tommy Peoples, Hothouse Flowers, Solas, Altan, Gerry O’Beirne, Colcannon, The Elders, Paddy Maloney and Kevin Conneff of the Chieftains.. etc., etc., etc. CC: Having heard their music, and maybe seeing them live in concert, have any of the guests surprised you when you have gotten together for a chat?Most of them have been amazingly well behaved!” No, actually, many of these people have become friends from my time in Ireland, so we enjoy a chat on or off the record!I was most surprised to get Tommy Peoples on..he is very shy and it was a big effort for him to talk on the air. I was very grateful to him for that. The wonderful thing about these musicians is that they are so willing.” I have never been turned down when I”ve asked someone.” Something that people may not know about me is that I am really shy (yes, really).” The hardest thing I do is get up the courage to ask artists I don”t know for interviews. I always feel like I”m imposing.” But to their credit they say yes.” I try to do an interview that is different from what they would usually do.” I try to come up with interesting questions and I always do my homework.CC: Are you a closet musician?” Do you sing in the shower?” I play instruments in the shower!” I used to sing in choir as kid. I love to sing to songs…just not when anyone is listening. The nice thing in Ireland and Scotland is that everyone sings at gigs, so I join in, too!” You can listen for me on Luka Bloom”s “Amsterdam” CD.” The whole thing was recorded at the Carre Theatre in Amsterdam ” audience as well.” Hmm”must add to Top Ten list ” Luka Bloom at Carre Theatre!I have been known to beat on goats and used to play hammered dulcimer before trading it for a harp that I never got”maybe it”s for the best.CC: Rumor has it that the pay on radio is not that great ” why do you do it? Cause I would hope to touch someone like I was touched when I heard Christy for the first time on my local radio station in Colorado! PM

When the Democratic National Convention takes place in Denver August 25-28, the city will be taking advantage of approximately $50 million provided by the federal government to cover security costs for the event. One man will be heading up the cause to ensure that only those federal funds will be used for convention security”not the taxes of local Denver citizens. That man is Dennis Gallagher, Auditor of the City and County of Denver.Gallagher, a Denver native and proud Irishman, was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1970. Since then, he has built an impressive political career of public service, culminating in his being awarded the Community Leader Award on May 14, 2008. The award recognizes Gallagher”s work to modernize and streamline the Denver Auditor”s office. Ever since Gallagher was elected Auditor in 2003 (Denver is one of only a few cites where the position is an elected one), he has been working to protect the city”s taxpayers by acting as a financial watch dog, and eliminating waste — going so far as consolidating his own department. In January, he helped to change the city charter to establish a truly independent audit committee, one that conforms to nationally accepted standards and avoids any conflicts of interest. Gallagher is the man who is literally keeping our local government honest. “I tell truth to power,” Gallagher says. “Whether they want to hear it or not.”While the branches of his political career span almost 40 years, his roots of Irish heritage go deep. Walking into his office in the Wellington Webb building in downtown Denver, you may be greeted in Gaelic. Above his bookshelf is the statue of a harp, the symbol of Ireland. And not only are his Irish roots deep, but also they are firmly planted in Colorado soil. His grandfather, William Joseph Gallagher, immigrated to Denver from Sligo in the early 1900s, finding work on the railroads. This was a time when Protestants and Catholics marched together in Saint Patrick”s Day parades. (They later split after the Irish civil war.) William was a member of the Irish Fellowship Club, and the United Mine Workers. “You look up the death rolls in Leadville,” Gallagher says of the old mining town. “There”s lots of Gallaghers buried in Potter”s Field.” Gallagher”s passion to protect the citizens of Denver surely stems from his grandfather”s Irish-American experience of hard work, solidarity, and love of freedom and opportunity for the common man. “God bless America and the union label” was a regular refrain in the household, and his son, Gallagher”s father, went on to become a firefighter. Things were very different in those days, and not always easy for Irish immigrants during the Ku Klux Klan era ” even as far north as Denver. Gallagher tells the tale of his mother, Ellen Flaherty, a young coat check girl at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, being ushered into a hiding place among the jackets one night so the roving Klansmen couldn”t find her.From North Denver, Gallagher attended Skinner Middle School, where there were “37 straight years of Gallaghers,” he says. While he only had one sibling, a brother, his aunt had 11 children. A recreation center has to be rented just to accommodate family reunions.After Skinner, Gallagher attended Holy Family Grade and High School, and then went on to Regis College, where he earned a BA in English Literature and minors in Latin and Greek. That”s how the hook of public service finally became firmly implanted in his hungry mouth. At Regis, he was exposed to, and greatly inspired by, classical writings on arts and public policy, especially Cicero”s speeches against the tyrants of the Roman Republic. After Regis, Gallagher attended Catholic University in Washington, D.C., where he majored in Speech Communication, which he has been teaching for the past 42 years. He returned to Regis, where he is now Professor Emeritus.An astonishingly learned and well-read scholar, Gallagher shows no signs of slowing down after his retirement from Regis in 2003. He leads cemetery and neighborhood tours, utilizing his encyclopedic knowledge of his city. In July, he led a group of Regis students on a two-week tour through Ireland, to explore the nation”s literature, culture, history and politics. When he returns to Denver, he will continue to advise city administrators on how they can do things better, and more efficiently. “I should have been an anthropologist,” he says. “What we”re doing is trying to change the culture, to make the city more accountable and improve the business processes.”With a desk buried under copies of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, (which he distributes), it”s apparent that he truly loves America and what it stands for. His grandfather from Sligo instilled in him the “idea that you could give something back. The country was good to us.”Denver is lucky to have such a committed, vigilant servant keeping his watchful eyes on taxpayer dollars. While the upcoming Democratic National Convention will fill Denver with high hopes and celebrations, Gallagher will continue to save us money, and to protect the money we already have.Editors note: Dennis has just been named Grand Marshall of the 2009 Denver ST. Patrick”s Day Parade. As an Irish-American and public servant Dennis has marchedin the annual parade for many years. On Saturday March 14 he will be honored for his service to the Denver community and his support and perpetuation of his Irish roots and culturePublished in August 08 Celtic Connection

In July the Colorado Irish Festival enjoyed a financial, cultural, and musical success. Featuring world class entertainers like Gaelic Storm, Solas, The Elders and Cathie Ryan this year”s festival drew 32,000 visitors or a 50% increase over last year. In its 14th year the Co President Kacey O”Connor took no bows. Instead, as usual, she pointed to others.”The Festival”s success is largely due to the visionaries, 14 years ago, that started the event. Without them and their fanatical determination we would never be where we are now. We have 400 volunteers tirelessly committed to the festival. We are expanding and hopefully improving the Festival each year. Ciaran (Ciaran Dwyer the other Co-President) and I get the accolades but really it”s the management team and the volunteers that are responsible for our success.”The festival made two changes this year and one caused a mild controversy. First of all the old smaller location in Clement Park became too congested. The festival management team decided to move west in the park to a larger area with an amphitheatre. The change presented a few logistical challenges but the new site worked well and the guests enjoyed it. The second decision was the selection of Coors as exclusive vendor for beer sales.Kacey explains. “In reality the decision was a no-brainer. Coors offered us a significant contribution. Their people are fabulously cooperative and huge supporters of the festival. Their contribution helps us bring the world renowned talent to the festival.”A visit to Kacey”s store reminds one of a visit to a store in a small village in Ireland. It”s quaint, clean, well stocked with merchandise and staffed with warm friendly people. Daughter Lillie helps with managing as well as purchasing dance outfits, shoes and wigs. As Kacey puts it “Lillie is tuned into what young girls want in their dance outfits. She is invaluable in our purchasing.”Humor seems to surround Kacey. On a recent Saturday a huge middle age gentleman came to the store to connect with his newly discovered Scottish roots. After browsing for awhile he settled on a kilt. Returning from the change room he proudly pranced around the store. Lillie saw the customer and almost collapsed trying not to laugh. He had put the kilt on backwards. She rushed to her mother and Kacey diplomatically approached the egotistical customer with “that looks fabulous on you and it”s surely the right size but I think it would look much better turned around.” The customer sheepishly returned to the changing area, turned the kilt around and left with his first kilt. Charming, hard working, feisty and fun loving, she is a credit to the Irish community.

Irish folk legend Ronnie Drew – the former frontman of ballad group The Dubliners – has been given an old-fashioned Irish wake by his family. The gravel-voiced singer, who passed away on 16th August, was waked in his Greystones, Co Wicklow home, by hundreds of fans, friends, family members and neighbours before his funeral in the nearby Church of the Holy Rosary. Among those dropping in to pay their respects to his son Phelim and daughter Cliodhna – and Ronnie himself – was composer Phil Coulter, singer Paul Brady, Riverdance composer Bill Whelan, Eurovision Song Contest winner Shay Healy and Sinead O’Connor.Local people in Greystones supplied food and drink for mourners who had traveled from far and near. And Ronnie was laid-out inside in his coffin in one of his best suits.His agent and friend Brian hand said: “He wanted a big party more than anything else. This was a celebration of life. He was a real man of the people and that was what he wanted. So he got it.”Ronnie was laid to rest in Greystones cemetery after a service that include music from his old Dubliners colleagues Barney McKenna and John Sheehan. The church was so full, loudspeakers broadcast the ceremony to the hundreds outside in the car park.Ronnie ” regarded as the ultimate Dubliner ” passed away after a long battle with throat cancer. Last year his wife Deirdre, who nursed him through the initial stages of his illness, contracted cancer herself and died. But he battled on enduring bout after bout of exhausting chemotherapy, supported by his children, five grandchildren and extended family.Earlier this year U2 star Bono was behind a tribute song to him called The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew. It reached number one in the Irish charts and featured contributions from The Edge, Andrea Corr, Moya Brennan of Clannad, Sinead O’Connor, members of The Dubliners and a host of others.Ronnie was suitably embarrassed by the tribute, which was broadcast in a TV special while he sat in the audience. The song was co-written by Bono and The Edge along with contributions from Robert Hunter, the lyricist with legendary American band The Grateful Dead.While Bono attended Deirdre Drew’s funeral last year to console Ronnie, there was no sign of him at the singer’s own funeral. He was believed to be on holiday with family and friends at his home in the south of France.But manager Paul McGuinness was there to represent the supergroup, while President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Briwn Cowen were also represented by aides. And colourful Pogues singer Shane MacGowan arrived in a black top hat to pay his respects.The Dubliners formed in the early 1960s and were originally called The Ronnie Drew Group. But the changed their name to The Dubliners after the James Joyce book that group member Luke Kelly was reading at the time.In 1967 they were the first Irish act to appear on British chart show Top Of The Pops singing the controversial Seven Drunken Nights, which was banned on Irish radio. Nearly 20 years later they teamed up with punk-folk band The Pogues to appear on the same show singing The Irish Rover.As famed for their drinking sessions as their songs, they toured for decades. But nearly 20 years ago Ronnie called a halt, quit he group and gave up drinking.Since then he performed regularly, doing solo shows, readings, pantomime and occasionally re-uniting with the band for special shows.With a voice of gravel that belied a heart of gold, he died peacefully in St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin surrounded by his family. A true Irish legend.

(Published in September 08 Celtic Connection)World-Class musicians from around the U.S. and abroad will travel to Huerfano County in south central Colorado for the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival September 25 -28. They will give concerts, offer music lessons, talk on the music traditions, and partake in impromptu music sessions along the way. The towns of Walsenburg, La Veta, Cuchara, and Gardner, all take part in the County-wide festival ” and it all started in a shack and trailer that Jack and Barbara Yule called home.Jack and Barbara moved with their four cats from Scotland to Gardner, Colorado in December of 2000 just in time for Christmas. In the previous spring they came across for a month so Jack could “knock up a shed” where they could live while he single-handedly built the two-story house he had designed for the couple to live. Luckily they had an old tiny used trailer to stay in while this job was being completed. The shed turned out to be 16″ by 20″ ” divided the long way for a half to hold Jack”s work tools and the other half for them to live in ” no amenities, including no electricity the first year. World-Class musicians from around the U.S. and abroad will travel to Huerfano County in south central Colorado for the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival September 25 -28. They will give concerts, offer music lessons, talk on the music traditions, and partake in impromptu music sessions along the way. The towns of Walsenburg, La Veta, Cuchara, and Gardner, all take part in the County-wide festival ” and it all started in a shack and trailer that Jack and Barbara Yule called home.Jack and Barbara moved with their four cats from Scotland to Gardner, Colorado in December of 2000 just in time for Christmas. In the previous spring they came across for a month so Jack could “knock up a shed” where they could live while he single-handedly built the two-story house he had designed for the couple to live. Luckily they had an old tiny used trailer to stay in while this job was being completed. The shed turned out to be 16″ by 20″ ” divided the long way for a half to hold Jack”s work tools and the other half for them to live in ” no amenities, including no electricity the first year. American born, Barbara went to Scotland in 1978 with her then eight year old daughter Heather to study for a doctorate in folklore at the School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh University. Jack and Barbara met and married and her stay extended beyond the degree for 22 years. Jack had been first a boat builder in a East Lothian boat yard, then a cabinet maker and somewhere in between he worked in the building trade. His final challenge after he and Barbara were married was to learn how to design and make Celtic harps. He became so successful at his art that in 2004 the Smithsonian Institute invited him as the only harp maker from Scotland to exhibit his harps at their Washington D.C. Folk Life Festival honoring Scotland and their finest traditional artists. Besides working in wood, Jack”s other love was playing his squeezebox or melodeon, a popular folk instrument in Scotland. He learned to play while growing up on various farms in East Lothian where his father was a ploughman. Barbara set the backdrop for the family Yule, “Our little cottage in the hamlet of Silverburn south of Edinburgh drew musicians both professional and amateur for regular ceilidh evenings. Storytelling, my field, was also popular at these events. This was Heather”s upbringing including getting the opportunity when she was still a schoolgirl to accompany me on many of my field collecting trips. We traveled widely throughout the country so I could record traditional stories told by the traveling people (formerly known as tinkers). It is no wonder Heather eventually went on to become a professional Celtic harp player and storyteller herself.”When Jack and Barbara moved to Scotland, Jack was and still is the only Scotsman living in Huerfano County. It took him a wee while to find other amateur musicians like himself who enjoyed playing Scottish and Irish music. He did find a few such men and they met regularly once a week to jam together.Barbara explained how the seeds of the Celtic Fest were planted. “In the summer of 2001 a couple of our musician friends from Scotland came across to camp on our land, and so we organized a ceilidh in their honor. The word spread, as seems to happen easily out here in the country, and about 75 people showed up with food and drinks and we had a rip roaring good time. Another ceilidh was held the following year and the year after that ” whenever one or more of our friends would cross the ocean, instruments in hand. Every summer participants to these rather spontaneous events increased and dancing and sing-alongs were added. After the 2004 summer ceilidh a number of us thought it might be fun to organize an actual weekend Celtic music festival.”With only a start up loan of $2500, all Barbara could think to do was to phone several of their professional musician friends who, because of Jack”s profession, were predominantly harp players, and ask them if they would come at their own expense to help launch a new festival. “To my surprise everyone I asked agreed!” said Barbara. That first year included Scottish ballad singer Alison Bell, world renowned harpers Billy Jackson (Scotland), Grainne Hambly (Ireland), international jazz harpist Park Stickney who flew in from Switzerland and Alfredo Ortiz, master player of the Paraguayan harp, and finally Jane McMoran, a fabulous Celtic fiddler from Tennessee. “Jack volunteered to host the concerts and his dry humor made such a hit that he still has that job today. We even had our daughter Heather across that year to take part as a harp teacher and storyteller. We couldn”t guarantee these wonderful artists the price of their flight tickets let alone offer them a fee! – As it turned out in the end we were able to reimburse all their expenses, pay back our loan, and still have a little money left over as a start for a second year!”Not bad for the first try especially so when you figure the preparation for the festival took place in the 8″ by 10″ living-work space in the shed that Jack built, still without running water and just a wood stove for heat, and six cats (they had added two American strays to their family). At least the shed now had electricity and an uncertain telephone that was on the blink more than it worked ” they would have to wait for their telephone poles later along with a well for water.The next years saw many more great international and American artists join their festival ranks. From the very first year outreach programs were presented by the guest artists to all Huerfano County schools K-12 during the week leading up to the festival itself. During the weekend they offered classes, workshops and demonstration talks especially with musicians and lovers of Celtic culture in mind. The festival has grown in number and popularity year to year, but by design it strives for quality and not quanity.”Ours will always be a small festival because our concerts (this year 5, one of which is free) and our strong educational music program does not have as broad an appeal as say, a Highland Games event,” explained Barbara, “We try and bring in artists as much as possible from Celtic countries, or Americans with direct Irish and or Scottish ties who perform internationally to offer participants an opportunity to hear, enjoy and learn from artists not normally accessible to Southern Colorado. We hope in the future to include more of the exciting best Celtic musicians Colorado has to offer as we are getting to know them from their visits to our festival.” This year the festival have two popular duos with local Colorado ties ” the delightful Willson and McKee who actually are rooted in Walsenburg and Shannon and Matt Heaton who have a big Colorado following from their years displaying their skills in their Colorado based band Siucra (Shoo-cra, Irish for “sugar). The Heatons will be joined on stage for the Saturday night concert at the Fox Theater in Walsenburg with internationally renowned Irish fiddler Liz Carroll, premier Uilleann piper Jerry O”Sullivan, and Kieran Jordan, a beautiful master of Sean-Nos (Old Style) Irish step dancing.As the festival closes in on its fourth year Barbara, as festival director, continues to take on the mighty task of presenting the pure form of Celtic music and dance to Colorado, while Jack single-handedly builds a house and home. Progress has been slow but steady -Jack and Barbara moved into their unfinished house (November of 2006) and now they have running water as well as electricity! Stop down to the beautiful Spanish Peaks region the last weekend in September and enjoy the fruits of their labor. “We welcome all to another festival we think you will find exciting, and this time, you will be pleased to know, we finally have found a great pub in La Veta happy to welcome late night session players! For more information visit www.CelticMusicFest.com

Irish Band Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys have an internet hit on “YouTube” in the works with their song celebrating Barack Obama’s Irish ancestry, “There’s No One as Irish As Barack O’Bama”. The band from Limerick, Ireland, made up of brothers Ger, Brian, and Donnacha Corrigan wrote the song after learning about a study last year that revealed Barack Obama roots to Moneygall, a small town in County Offaly. “We have been messing around for the last year or two as a band” said Ger Corrigan who described the band as “specializing in parody songs.” “We wrote the song about Obama because we heard he was from Moneygall, and we were really just doing it for a bit of fun.” The bands initial offering of the “Obama song” went without fanfare.”We put the song on Youtube in March and by the end ofApril it had only 25 hits” said Ger Corrigan. But that has all changed since the worldwide media have picked up on the “bit of fun” of the song and story. Now newspapers, TV, websites and bloggers from all over the world are covering the story.Irish media has also been joining in on the fun. At the end of June Hardy Drew and The Nancy boys headlined the “Obama Nomination Celebrartion Gig” in Obama”s “hometown” in Moneygall Ireland. This was carried live on the Irish National News TV3. A documentary maker following the bands story and recorded the celebration gig for posterity.The facts behind the fun come from recent findings uncovered by Canon Stephen Neill, a Church of Ireland rector in Moneygall, who found that the Hawaiian-born Illinois senator’s Irish Anglican ancestors hailed from the village, many of whom emigrated to America at the time of Ireland’s potato famine in the 1840s. Baptismal and marriage records has traced Mr Obama’s maternal family tree back to his great-great-great-great grandfather Joseph Kearney, a well-to-do shoemaker from Moneygall, Co Offaly, who lived from 1794 to 1861.Mr. Obama ,son of a Kenyan man and a woman from Kansas, recently spoke with Irish televison RTE in regards to his Irish roots. He said in jest, “I”ve always maintained that Obama is and Irish name ” just put the apostrophe after the O and your all set.”There is no word yet if the band will fly to Denver this month for the Democratic National Convention to honor the presidential candidate as the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2008 presidential election, but “Michiganders for Obama” have invited the band to play in Michigan if Obama succeeds in the November Presidential Race.Pat McCullough August 08 Celtic Connection

The groundbreaking partnership aims to bring over 2000 volunteers from the”U.S.”and”Ireland”to the Khayelitsha township, located approximately 25 miles outside”Cape Town. Meaning Xhosa for “our new home,” Khayelitsha is one of the youngest and biggest townships in the”Cape”Flats area. The Blitz will take place at the overcrowded Site C, the oldest part of the township with only a few decent houses in the area.”In one week, volunteers will build more than 250 houses, as well as a community center, and a Garden”of”Hope. An additional 550 houses will be built during the year by township residents trained in the construction trade.”We”re looking for people who want to change the lives of hundreds of South African families forever,” says Mellon. “If you can”t come, maybe you know someone who can” a sister, a brother, a work colleague. Please help us spread the word because we need your help to recruit volunteers.”The sixth annual Building Blitz program is well underway with Irish volunteers, including more than 1,300 construction workers, already raising funds in Ireland to participate in the event.”Each volunteer must raise $8,000, which covers flight, accommodation, and construction costs for the houses. The Township Trust covers administrative costs.”Going into the Blitz, I didn”t know what”to expect. My Irish friend Gavin Bonnar has volunteered with the housing project for six years and has always”told”me, “it will change your life,”” says Dylan Hoffman, a 2007 volunteer from”New York. “I have always thought of myself as a giving person. I have supported various organizations such as the World Wild Life Federation and National Public Radio. I have also given annually to the police and volunteered on Thanksgiving soup lines. But I had no idea how much I would be affected by this experience. Handing”keys to a family that has been waiting 20 years for their home ” a home you built no less ” is an incredibly moving experience and something every human being”should”touch upon.””Since 2002, NMTT has built nearly 5,000 houses in 10 townships in the”Western Cape”and 13 townships in”Gauteng, with 21,235 township adults and children moving into new homes in 2007 alone. The organization also works alongside the South African government to install running water and sanitation facilities and to provide children with a safe place to study and a dry place to keep their school books and uniforms. In addition, thousands of job opportunities have been created for township residents who have graduated the NMTT construction trade training program.”It gives us back our dignity to have a key in your own door and to open the door. It makes you feel human,” says Elize Tully, a new home owner from the Netreg township.2008 volunteers, mainly from”Ireland, the”U.S., and other countries, including”England,”Wales, France,”Germany, the”Netherlands, Italy,”Finland,”Lithuania”and”Australia, will participate in the Blitz. More than 1800″Irish volunteers have already been recruited, including 710 “veteran” volunteers who participated in past efforts. Approximately 80 percent of the Irish volunteers are trades people, representing a wide variety of skills from carpentry to block laying. The remaining 20% will come from a diverse range of backgrounds, faiths, and professions.”Apartheid is over, but its legacy ” homelessness ” remains,” says Paddy Maguiness, Worldwide CEO of the Township Trust. “The”South Africa”government has built over 2 million houses for the poor since the fall of apartheid. Despite this achievement nearly 2.5 million people still live in shacks. This partnership adds a new dimension to existing efforts to change the direction of housing and poverty alleviation efforts in Africa and, by partnering with our friends across the Atlantic, we can make a real difference.”Many elected and government officials welcome the effort to bring Americans on board, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Congressman Charles Rangel, Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick, the Congressional Black Caucus, and prominent faith leaders, including Diocese of Washington Rev. John Bryson Change. Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former South African President Nelson Mandela also support the initiative.About”Niall”Mellon”Township”Initiative
Since 2007, the Niall Mellon Township Initiative (NMTI) is a 501(c)3 tax-deductible not-for-profit organization registered in the”U.S.”All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. NMTI works in close partnership with The Niall Mellon Township Trust (NMTT) based in”Dublin,”Ireland. To learn more about the Building Blitz, visit www.you-tube.com”and type in “Niall Mellon Township Trust.”

As a school boy he listened as his history teacher talked for two days about the Algonkin Indian tribe of Canada who were constantly at war with the Iroquois Nation of upstate New York. “On the second day I asked, “Can you tell me why these two were not getting along?” and his answer to me was, “Well Kenneth, that”s just the way it was.” And I said to myself “that answer is no answer at all!””As an adult, Ken sought to not only answer the Algonkin /Iroquois question, but as a labor of love researched all American Indian tribes as well as their languages over a 15-year period. He knows the answer to his question now ” and it is much more complex than anything his former teacher could have imagined. In 2002, Ken began to research his own Irish ancestry. His mother, Bridget Agnes Hannon, was a 15-year-old girl when she emigrated from a hamlet near Ballymote, Co. Sligo. “My wife, Diane, said to me, “You know you really should look into your mother”s Irish surname (Hannon)””. He found a quote from a popular genealogist that said “for an armigerous family very little is known about the Hannons”. For Ken it was “game on!” He made a vow to himself that the lack of knowledge would end that day. “I just started pouring into it ” I knew where to go and what to do and how to find the information.” Not only did he learn about the Hannon name, but he also became one of the founding officers of Clan Hannon. “We have members now in 16 countries on 5 continents ” we are also members of the Clans of Ireland Ltd. of County Dublin, Ireland, (that was begun by the Irish government) which actually organizes all officially registered Irish clans.” Ken has also spoken to many Hannons worldwide giving proof to the width and length of the Irish Diaspora; including descendents of the Wild Geese still living today on the European continent that hunger for information on their Hannon ancestors. In 2005, as a dual citizen of both the USA and the Republic of Ireland he returned from San Francisco”s Irish Consulate with his new Irish passport. “My siblings and I consider the opportunity to obtain an Irish passport a final gift from our immigrant mother.”Turned on to his Irish side, Ken got involved with the Colorado Irish Festival. For the past 4 years he has been Cultural Coordinator in charge of the fest”s Cultural Village.  After last year”s fest, fellow board members approached him about adding an Irish surname exhibit to the Cultural Village. They didn”t need to twist his arm. “I have a tremendous respect for our Irish ancestors and have studied and researched this topic for years ” so it”s something pretty close to my heart” said Ken, who has been working on the exhibit the better part of this year. “I spent some good time working on this,” he chuckled, and added, “I think this will be worth the time for people to come and see the exhibit at the Colorado Irish Festival.”Ken continued with great enthusiasm about Irish surnames and of the information that will be on hand at the exhibit. “Ireland was the first country in Europe to have surnames ” ” Cl”irigh (O”Cleary) being the first on record in 916 A.D.,” he pointed out proudly, “That fact has been forgotten because of all the turbulence that Ireland has gone through over the centuries ” and also because Ireland”s surnames were forced to be anglicized from their original Irish spelling. The Irish surnames in their Irish form mean something totally different from the anglicized form which was adopted, and those anglicized versions for the most part have remained today, though many are reverting back to the original form in Ireland itself.” To put things in perspective ” Norway did not have permanent surnames “til they passed a law in 1925 (1,000 years after Ireland!) and Iceland to this day still does not use permanent surnames.Early Irish surnames often indicated a clann, place of origin, or a trade, under “Brehon Law” (the Celtic legal code). At the exhibit there will be Irish surnames that show the original Irish language spelling and meaning next to the anglicized version ” along with the spelling used by 137 historic figures who had those surnames. He found 103 Irish surnames that begin with “Mac Giolla …” which means “son of the servant of” followed by an Irish saint”s name. The exhibit has included a couple of those names.Ken wants people to know and understand that the surname their ancestor had is different than the one they have today. “I want to tell the stories of the men and women who no longer can speak for themselves. I want to tell the story of the people who suffered in the Great Famine “An Gorta Mor.” I want to tell the story of the 138 years of the Penal Laws which lasted through six British monarchs (five to six Irish generations) ” not to make people angry, but rather to educate them and make them proud of their ancestors who faced those hardships and survived. If our ancestors had not survived, we ourselves would not be here today. According to Ken, the first time England tried cracking down on the Irish surnames, along with the Catholic Cambro-Norman surnames, was in the 1300″s. England escalated efforts in the 17th and 18th century to anglicize the Irish surnames ” names that spoke of family history and religion. “So the Irish name, spelling, pronunciation, and meaning that had been used for 775 years now had to be changed. In the exhibit I talk about this, how they (England) made suggestions to the Irish ” “Use the name of your trade ” if you are a butler, clerk, cook, or blacksmith for example, use those names ” or just use the surname of White, Brown, or Black.”An example of how the English neutralized the Irish surnames was given by Ken, “McGowan (anglicized), a surname originating in Ulster, where the McGowans of Co. Cavan changed their name to “Smith” (their trade was blacksmiths) ” however, the McGowans in Counties Sligo, Leitrim, and Donegal, kept the name of McGowan ” and yet they were all related to begin with, but you would not know that at first glance.” Most of the Irish tried to stay as close to their surname as possible, but if they wanted work they had to anglicize their surnames. “If you were Irish Catholic you could not educate your children, practice your religion, own property, or own your own business ” in effect all Irish Catholic men were destined to be day laborers under the Penal Laws.”Ken pointed to a University College in Cork 3-year research project that recently ended resulting in the discovery of 3,700 Irish Surnames ” spelled 11,500 different ways! “We cannot do all of the 3,700 Irish Surnames ” that”s just physically impossible…but we do have ninty-six featured surnames as a microcosm of Irish history covering over a thousand years.” Most of the names in the exhibit are taken from the local Colorado Irish community, but there will be some historical Irish heroes” surnames as well.Much of Ken”s research material for the exhibit came from the work of Reverend Patrick Wolfe who wrote a book “Irish Names and Surnames” in 1923. His research and book are still highly regarded by many who study Irish surnames. Ken spoke with great respect and admiration, “For twenty years Reverend Patrick Wolfe researched Irish forenames and surnames. He went from town to town throughout all 32 counties. He also went to the Gaelic areas of Scotland because of the Dalriadan Clans (Irish who left Co. Antrim c.500 AD, colonized Scotland, and later gave rise to the term “Highlanders”). He met many people during those 20 years ” people who told him where they were from before they were transplanted off their lands, and where their surnames originally came from “.With hopes that folks make an effort to experience the new Irish Surname (Sloinnte Gael) Exhibit at the Colorado Irish Festival this July 11-13, Ken believes that they will be educated if not surprised ” and some might be outright encouraged. “If I can tantalize you a little bit by helping you find out where your surname was from perhaps you will get into researching a bit more than you might have. Perhaps you will do your own family research ” maybe not to the extent that I did with the Hannons, but I”m hopeful that many people will. The joy of discovering the history of your ancestors can be very rewarding.”For more information on the Colorado Irish Festival go to www.ColoradoIrishFestival.org.

Fearing for her safety and the safety of her family, Nelson went to the RUC looking for protection. Her cries for help were denied. Nelson then went to many people with reports of threats against her life and her subsequent requests for protection ” including Burke with whom she met in Lurgan at a March 1998 dinner, and other delegates from the Lawyers Alliance for Justice in Ireland. After many requests to the authorities (RUC) for protection, she was murdered outside her home in March 1999 by a car bomb. The Rosemary Nelson Murder Inquiry”s main objective is to determine if British authorities, particularly the RUC, had involvement with the murder or protected those involved.Burke did testified in Belfast Thursday the 22nd of May. Here are a few of his thoughts upon returning to Denver. (To read Burkes full testimony go to www.rosemarynelsoninquiry.org – Click on “transcripts” and go to May 22, his testimony is the second that day).”The big thing I thought was very impressive was the people that I had never met nor knew about, who had very similar testimony to mine ” about the death threats that had been made and the attempts to get help for her (Nelson)…one of them was a peer (British) Sir Lewis Blom Cooper, he started off by giving testimony that seemed favorable to the British, but then as he got into it he talked about all of his contact with her and how terrible the situation was for her (Nelson)””They”re (British) trying to show that she was a publicity hound ” and having an affair with a client ” which was just ridicules.” Burke went on to give reasons why everyone who knew Rosemary Nelson believed it was ridicules, including her high ethics as a wife and local lawyer and the small town environment (no secrets). Burke implied that it was common belief these were fabricated rumors put out by the RUC after her death as a diversion and/or to further discredit Nelson. “One person that was on the witness stand was a person who worked in Nelson”s office ” she was asked, “Have you heard anything about an affair between Mrs. Nelson and Colin Duffy?” and she said, “Yes I have…I saw it in a newspaper after she was dead and I didn”t believe it.””The lawyer (Barry Philips) for the inquiry ” called a Barrister ” was the only one permitted to ask questions. Burke thought that the Barrister was generally reasonable in his line of questioning ” with the exception of some argumentative questions that were emailed to him from a solicitor named Donaldson who represented the RUC/PSNI.Burke believes that the Inquiry will go into 2009. He will give periodic updates to the Celtic Connection and the results of the Inquiry.