Out & About

It's going to be another busy week this week as we have a lot going on in this fair city of New York.

A great benefit concert is taking place at the Irish Repertory Theatre  to benefit the Mercy Centre in Bangkok on Monday, November 14 at 8pm! Performers will include Girsa, Larry Kirwan, Mick Moloney, Athena Tergis, Brian Conway & Brendan Dolan, Victor Cuneen, Cathy Maguire, Deirdre & Mattie Connolly, Marian Makins, Gabriel Donohue, Sean Hennessy, Kitty Kelly, Colm McCann, the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra and special guests. 

Tickets are $70 each, $100 for two includes complimentary CD with proceeds going to the Mercy Centre. For ticketing information, call Donie Carroll at (917) 723-7488 or Dan Neely at (646) 270-1172.

The boys from Dublin are having a all-star line up for the Dublin GAA Dinner Dance at the New York Athletic Club and there'll be some extra special guests: The Dublin Senior Football All Ireland Champions. The dinner is on this Friday, November 11 at 6.30 pm.

Music will be by The Dublin City Ramblers and tickets are only $200. For more information or to reserve your place e-mail pdhurley@aol.com or call (212) 873-1900 or (914) 912-7587.

For all those lucky guests who buy tickets you can have your picture taken with the Sam Maguire Cup along with the Dublin team players... now that's a good one for the history books, right?

Excitement is rapidly building for the return of one of the most popular charity events on the New York City social calendar with news that the GOAL Ball will take place in Gotham Hall on Friday, November 11.

The GOAL Balls, held in several locations across the world every year in aid of the international humanitarian agency, have always been hugely popular occasions and several GOAL Patrons, including GOAL US President and ex-tennis star, Mats Wilander, and renowned New York-based Irish tenor, Paul Byrom are encouraging all ex-pats and native New Yorkers to chalk the date for the NYC event down in their diaries.

"The GOAL Balls are extremely enjoyable wherever they are held, but the New York event has always been that little bit special," said Byrom, who has travelled with GOAL to visit some of their projects in the developing world.

"I would urge everyone to make the effort to attend or support GOAL in some way on the night and help them raise as much money as possible for their overseas operations."

The black-tie event will begin at 7.30 pm with a champagne and hors d'oeuvre reception, followed by a gourmet dinner, an all-night open bar, a casino, dancing and plenty of live entertainment.

There will also be live and silent auctions, plenty of spot prizes and, of course, the legendary GOAL Ball after-party.

All proceeds will, as ever, go towards GOAL's work in the developing world.

Those wishing to support the Ball can purchase individual tickets priced at $250; book a table for 10 people; book corporate tables; donate prizes or auction items or simply make a financial contribution towards the cost of holding the Ball.

To purchase tickets or for more information on the event please contact info@goalusa.org or call (212) 831-7420. If you'd like more information on this topic please call Maria McLoughlin on (212) 831-7420 or email mmcloughlin@goalusa.org

Failte 32's featured organization for November will be the United Irish Counties Association of New York (www.uicany.org).

The UICANY is the umbrella organization of all 32 county societies in New York, each of which represents one of the 32 counties of Ireland.

The county societies have been the backbone of the Irish community in New York during the past century, and still play a very important role in helping our new arrivals find jobs in New York.

Its current President is Michael Prunty, a great Longford man and leader in the Irish American community, having served roles including past President of the County Longford Association of New York,  and past President of Division 4 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in New York.

The Shamrock Fund SM, launched last month, was recently featured in the September issue of the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers (www.CIIC-USA.org) newsletter.

They would like to thank Katie Fox, its new National Coordinator, for including us in this important issue.

Katie jumped straight into her role as National Coordinator with such positive energy, by actively reaching out to everyone in the Irish community in a unifying way.

They're are very thankful for her support and great suggestions. The same newsletter features the Coalition's important meeting with Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamonn Gilmore.

Don't forget that James O'Malley and his wife Lelia are organizing a benefit for Village Health Works (VHW) - www.villagehealthworks.org - at the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg on Tuesday, November 15, from 6:30 to 9pm.

I am so sorry that this escaped me last week especially since it was brought to my attention by a great friend Maeve O'Malley who does a lot of fundraising for Concern:

A benefit for CONCERN was held at the Claret Wine Bar (4602 Skillman Avenue (at 46th St) in Sunnyside). This woman  has been working so hard  to raise funds for Concern here in New York and again we all thank you Maeve... I heard that Noelle Clancy and Deirdre O'Hea were sipping lots of wine... what no cider? Just kidding...

The Celtic Tenors are back! Their latest CD, 'Feels Like Home', is a 13-song CD that celebrates the uplifting music of Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, while borrowing a few songs from other cultures along the way.

The album was scheduled for release on October 18, on Telarc International, a division of Concord Music Group.

Some of the songs on 'Feels Like Home' are traditional and some are contemporary, but all of them serve as a reminder that the world is still a hopeful place.

The Celtic Tenors, are a three-man vocal group that includes Matthew Gilsenan, James Nelson and Daryl Simpson. The trio has been weaving together an eclectic repertoire of Celtic, operatic and popular songs for audiences worldwide since 2000.

For more info please contact: Anita Daly at Daly Communications on (212) 772-0852 or e-mail anitadaly@yahoo.com.

See you all next week...