Out & About

Well, well, look who was in town... yes, the great Brian Mullins - the retired Gaelic football manager and former player for Dublin and now the current Director of Sport for University College Dublin.

I met Brian with another great Dublin man Paul Hurley at O'Casey's Bar and Restaurant on 41st Street (between Madison and 5th Avenues) as he was in town for a few days and we had a great chat about how unlucky Dublin were this year!

Oh them Corkboys always pull something out of the hat. As I am talking about Cork I have to congratulate them on winning the All-Ireland this year.

Now that we are back to Dublin I'd like to say that you're all cordially invited to attend the 73rd Annual Dinner Dance of the Dublin Society of New York, Inc., which will be held at the Manhattan Club, in Rosie O'Grady's (800 Seventh Avenue) on October 23rd.

The cocktail hour begins at 8pm and it'll be followed by dinner and dancing. The Dubliner of the Year is Ms. Niamh Conway, a native of Drumconrda. She is the proprietor of Fiddlesticks, The Galway Hooker and The Downtown Galway Hooker.

They are recognizing Niamh Conway for her generous support of the Irish and American communities in New York.

I can vouch that she is a well deserved honoree who has done a lot for Irish immigrants and is very popular in the restaurant and bar business in New York. Congratulations from everyone here at The Irish Examiner newspaper.

Just to let you know that a table of ten is $900.00 or $90.00 per ticket. A souvenir journal will be published in commemoration of this event and your support and generosity will be much appreciated.

If you have any questions about booking or you want to place an ad in the journal, call Geraldine Johnson at (212) 691-2448.

I am giving you this next bit of news even though I am not a smoker myself: the New York City Council Health Committee will be holding a public hearing on October 14th at 1pm at 250 Broadway, 14th Floor, regarding the proposal to ban outdoor smoking in all parks, pedestrian malls and on beaches..

You can sign up to testify BEFORE that date by writing to Legislative Policy Analyst Joseph Mancino at City Hall, or you can sign in on the day with the Sergeant at Arms to address the committee.

You can also simply choose to attend and not speak. A large turnout against the measure would speak for itself!

Lastly, if you cannot attend at all, you can still submit your opinion to New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (who, aside from being a priority recipient, says she will forward opinions to the health committee's staff) at council.nyc.gov/d3/html/members/home.shtml.

So new we've got the serious business out of the way, let's move back to something more lighthearted...

Two plays are currently on their way from The Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street). On The Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage is the world premiere of Banished Children of Eve - a play by Kelly Younger, adapted from Peter Quinn's bestselling novel about the Civil War in New York City - with previews set to begin on October 13th, prior to its official press opening on October 24th.

Ciarán O'Reilly, who helmed last season's celebrated revival of The Emperor Jones directs.

The other play, St. Nicholas will run from October 15th through November 21st (opening on October 20th) at The Irish Repertory Theatre Company's W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre (132 West 22nd Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues). It'll be performed Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm; plus 3pm matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.

General admission tickets are $30, and are available by calling (212) 727-2737 or online at www.irishrep.org.

Orla O'Malley, consultant for Alro Event Management & PR, Greater New York City Area, has recently given birth to a new baby so we would like to congratulate her.

She's a hard worker and is in town for the Michael Smurfit UCD 8th Annual New York Benefit Dinner on Wednesday, October 13th at The Metropolitan Club (1 East 60th Street at Fifth Avenue).

The cocktail reception runs from 6:30 to 7:30pm with dinner starting at 7:30pm. Business Attire is requested... now how about that?

As you all know Halloween is coming up on Saturday October 30th. Let us know where the party is and we will give it a good mention in Out&About.

Send the information to events@irishexaminerusa.com.

By the way, I did tell you that our Man of the Year George Heslin will be honored on Thursday October 21st. As you know, he has done a lot for Irish Theatre here in New York so we hope to see you all there.

See you all next week.