Honolulu hosts the very last St. Patrick's Day parade on earth every year. No other parade is held closer to the International Dateline. It has an eclectic look with Polynesian school bands, Chinese lion dancers, beauty queens of various Pacific Island nationalities and even representatives of the British-themed Fox and Hounds Pub &Grub marching along-side Irish … [Read more...] about St. Patrick’s Day, A World Away
St. Patrick's Day
New York’s Grand Marshal
When Thomas Gleason, 79, leads the St. Patrick's Day Parade up Fifth Avenue he will be following in his father's footsteps. His father, the late Thomas W. "Teddy" Gleason, was Grand Marshal in 1983. A World War II veteran, Thomas Gleason joined the Marines at the end of 1941. He served in the Marshall Islands and the Marianas (from where the Army Air Corps' long-range bombers … [Read more...] about New York’s Grand Marshal
No Van For Hawaii
But all is not lost for island lovers of the craic. ℘℘℘ HONOLULU, Hi. -- It's been nearly two decades since a major Irish recording artist performed in Hawaii. U2 was here in 1985 but none of the acts that followed has registered on the Richter Scale of Celtic entertainment. Gaelic Storm, which gained a degree of fame performing in steerage in the blockbuster film, … [Read more...] about No Van For Hawaii
Dynamite Johnny
The Cuban struggle for independence and the remarkable Irishman who helped. Johnny O'Brien was already famous among sailors for his extraordinary skill as a harbor pilot guiding ships through the treacherous waters of Hell Gate in New York harbor. But when he out-maneuvered Spanish gunboats and United States Revenue cutters to keep the Cuban rebels supplied with weapons and … [Read more...] about Dynamite Johnny
The Warring of the Green
New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade, one of the last major celebrations left to the Irish in America, has come under a barrage of criticism these past years; from ILGO, the Irish Gays and Lesbian Organization, who have protested their right to march, and also from local Irish newspapers, who have been denied the line of march, which went instead to The New York Post, known for … [Read more...] about The Warring of the Green