Presenting: The Dublin City Ramblers. Springfield Parade Committee News

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1 Presenting: The Dublin City Ramblers On Friday, March 4, 2016 the club will proudly present world renowned musicians: The Dublin City Ramblers. Their impressive career has spanned more than 35 years and has produced over 30 albums of beautiful ballads and lively folk music. Doors open at 7:30pm with the music of Bill Eagen and The Rising. The Dublin City Ramblers will then take the stage at 8:30PM. There are a limited number of tables that can be reserved but those tickets will go quickly. Tickets cost $20.00 in advance or $25.00 at the door. To buy tickets or for more information about the concert, contact Matt Keating at or call the club at Springfield Parade Committee News The Springfield Parade Committee will be holding the Colleen Preliminaries on January 2 nd at the JBO at 7 PM. Five finalist will be selected that night and one will be chosen as Grand Colleen at the Coronation Ball. The Coronation Ball will be held Saturday February 6 th at the Cedars Banquet Hall in Springfield. Tickets are on sale for a donation of $50 dollars. Ticket can be purchased by calling Kathy or Patty Tickets will also be available at the next parade meeting which will be held on Wednesday January 20 th at the JBO at 7PM and the next JBO meeting. Tickets will not be sold at the door. The committee will announcing our other award winners at the Coronation. Those winners include: Paul. G. Caron Award Winner Dot Lortie; The John and Agnes Burke Award Winner - Phil Hanarhan; The Mary B. Troy Appreciate Award Winner - Joey, Billy and Laurie Christofori and the 2016 Parade Marshall Gunnery Sargent Thomas J. Sullivan. Please consider joining us for an elegant evening of dinner, dancing and celebrating. The Marshall reception will be held on Sunday February 28 th from 2-4 at the JBO. Ad space is available in the program for the Coronation, with rates starting under $20. Please contact Phil Hanarhan for more information. The committee is also selling calendars for $10. The drawing for the raffle prize will be done in March. We hope to see you all soon!! Finally, 1

2 Installation of Officers This year s Installation of Officers will be held on Saturday, January 23rd, at 5:30 PM. Being sworn in as President is John O Shea, Gloria Fernandes as Vice President, Ryan Wells as Secretary and Ellen Longtin as Treasurer. Also being sworn in are the following members of the Board of Directors: Billy Jones, Bill Cournoyer and Craig Kefalas. Please join them for a night of music, food and fun! Tickets are $20.00 and can be purchased by contacting John O Shea at Membership Dues A vote was taken at the November Member s Meeting to raise the membership dues from $40 to $50. The 2016 membership renewals have been mailed out and dues need to be paid in full by April 1st, St. Patrick s Day Parade All current club members are encouraged to join the John Boyle O Reilly contingent to march in the 2016 Holyoke St. Patrick s Day Parade. If you plan to march, please meet at the club at 9:00 AM at which time there will be roundtrip buses leaving for the parade. Please wear black pants and a JBO jacket or Irish sweater. We are in the process of finalizing the prices for club jackets and will have that information shortly after the Christmas holidays. If you are interested in purchasing a jacket, please call the club and leave your contact information, or signup in the Members Lounge, so we can keep you informed. Southwest Gems of Ireland 2016 Tour We are ready to launch our highly anticipated 2016 Southwest Gems of Ireland Tour. Join us for another one-of-a-kind tour filled with surprises as we explore Dingle, Kinsale, Kilkenny and beyond! Our first tour information session will take place on Sunday, January 24, 2016, at 12:00 noon in the upstairs hall. To secure each passenger space on our tour, we require at the time of booking: (1) a completed and signed reservation application/waiver, (2) $1,000 deposit, and (3) a current passport copy. Optional travel protection insurance must also be purchased at time of booking. This very special 11-day/9-night tour will be from Monday, October 3, through Thursday, October 13, and will include 4 nights in Dingle (Dingle Benners Hotel), 3 nights in Kinsale (The Trident Hotel) and 2 nights in Kilkenny (Kilkenny Hibernian Hotel). All of our hotels are rated first class and superior class and are located in heart of each of our destination points. Roundtrip Boston/Shannon air travel via Aer Lingus including airport bus transport from/to the JBO Club. Highlights include the Blasket Centre, Dingle Crystal, Dingle Whiskey Distillery, Killarney, Blarney Castle and Woollen Mills, Charles Fort, Mizen Head, Kilkenny Castle, Smithwick s Experience and so much more!! Our tour committee once again has many surprises and treats planned to make this tour an unforgettable experience!! All gratuities included. This exceptional tour is priced at $2,625 per person, double occupancy with very limited single availability. Contact Eric Devine at or Joyce Bosworth at with any questions. Visit for our full itinerary. Tour reservations will be on a first-come, first-paid basis. Space is limited book early! We do hope you ll join us. 2

3 Irish Person of the Year, 2016 Patrick McMahon Patrick J. McMahon came to this country in 1960 from his native Miltown Malbay, County Clare Ireland. He settled in Springfield with relatives and shortly thereafter met his future wife, Eileen (Leahy) McMahon. Eileen herself was the daughter of Irish immigrants, John Leahy from County Clare and Katherine (Dowd) Leahy from County Kerry. Pat and Eileen were married and had two boys, Stephen and John McMahon, moving to West Springfield in 1965 to the same home where they reside today. Pat began his decades-long association with the John Boyle O Reilly Club by working part-time as a bartender at its original home in downtown Springfield. Through his tireless efforts, he helped to make the John Boyle O Reilly Club the celebrated monument to Irish culture and music that it is known as today. Back in the day, if you were Irish and you needed a hall for a wedding, a family gathering or a meeting for work, you went to see Pat McMahon. If you were in band, playing Irish music and you needed a place to play, you went to see Pat and he made sure you had an audience. Pat also instituted many programs at the JBO that have become traditions, including Irish step dancing and music lessons, and the children s Christmas party. He also was a founder and driving force behind the creation of the Springfield/Hartford chapter of the Jim Seery Branch of Comhaltas, an international organization that promotes the culture, language, music and dance of Ireland. In the mid 1970 s, Pat was the inaugural chairman of the founding committee that brought the first Feis to Springfield. A Feis is a day of Irish competitive step dancing, Irish music and Gaelic football matches. The annual festival was attended by thousands from all over the Northeast. Through his work at the John Boyle, Patrick has been able to foster an appreciation and celebration of Irish culture in the Springfield area that continues to this day. Congratulations on a well-deserved honor! Traditional Irish and Celtic Music "Seisiun" Every Wednesday evening at 7:30 PM in the lounge, enjoy traditional jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas and songs! All musicians, singers and other lovers of Irish music are welcome! As legendary Irish fiddler Charlie Lennon said, "A good Seisiun can leave you walking on air, send you home happy and keep your mind filled with music for a whole week!" 3

4 Upcoming Calendars of Events JANUARY 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Pipe and 10 11Pipe and Pipe and Pipe and 31 Members Meeting 5 6 Pitch Pitch Pitch Pitch 7 Dart Dart 21 Dart 28 Dart Install of New Officers Every Monday: Bagpipe and Upstairs Hall 7:00PM Every Wednesday : Pitch Members Lounge 7:30PM and Open Irish Music Sessions - 7:30PM FEBRUARY 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Pipe and 2 3 Pitch 4 Dart Pipe and 9 10 Pitch 11 Dart Pipe and Pitch 18 Dart Pipe and Pitch 25 Dart Members Meeting 29 Pipe and 4

5 Please visit our sponsors. without their generosity, this publication would not be possible. If you wish to become a sponsor, please us at: newsletter@jbo-club.com 5

6 John Boyle O Reilly Club 33 Progress Avenue Springfield, MA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED There are over 100 bricks paving Memory Way in front of the club, but there is still room for more! These bricks are a great way to create permanent tributes to family and friends who enjoyed membership in the club over the years. Applications are available online and Billy Jones can help you design your brick to make it special. It s Time for January 21st - Enjoy a great night of painting, cocktails and fun! Funds raised go to new tables and chairs for the hall. For only $35, you can paint your own masterpiece no artistic skills required! This month s picture is Pot of Gold. The event will take place upstairs, 6:30 9:00PM. Register at paintsocialart.com or call Ellie at for info. Mutton Pies!! Don t wait until it s too late! Order your Mutton Pies today! Laurie Christofori and Ellie Longtin are already hard at work, making pies. Each pie is $5.00 and you can place your order by calling the club or contacting Ellie Longtin at Need a last minute gift? What about a 1916 Ireland Forever candle, created just for the JBO. Candles are available in 31 different scents and can be ordered at whipcitycandle.com. They retail at $20.00 each and $10.00 of that price comes back to the JBO club. 6