The AOH Hall in Monroe, NY was full on Saturday night as our Orange County friends came out in force to show their support for Immigration Reform. It was a wonderful night as MC and coordinator Paul Byrne of WTBQ 'A Drop of the Irish' 1110 AM kept the disks spinning between live bands. Dennis Browne, the AOH Orange County President and District Director, spent all night in the kitchen, ably supported by division members, making sure everyone had enough to eat.
Enda Keegan, a Kilkenny native, got the night off to a great start, and he was followed by MacGillicuddy Reeks. The young ladies from Sheehan/Gormley School of Irish Dance brought everyone in the Hall to their feet. It was plain to see that the Irish tradition is alive and well north of the city. The Orange County AOH Division #1 Pipes and Drums entertained the still standing crowd with patriotic tunes including 'A Nation Once Again' before Ann-Marie Maloney sang both the Irish and American National Anthems.
This was followed by a rousing speech from Peter Coyle, a member of AOH Div 9 New York City and an ILIR volunteer. Peter pointed out how important it is that Americans show their support for the undocumented Irish presently living in the U.S. His views were echoed by Samantha Melia, Stephen McSweeney and Mary Brennan. Brendan O'Dowd, Vice-President of AOH Division #1 finished off the speeches by asking everyone present to come to Washington DC on March 7th for the National Lobby Day.
The final act of the night was The Wild Rovers who kept the crowd entertained until the wee hours. There were wonderful spot prizes donated by local businesses and friends of the ILIR. Overall the night was a tremendous success with enough people expressing their desire to go to Washington DC that a bus will be leaving from the AOH Hall in Monroe on March 7th. Anyone from the Orange County area wishing to go should contact Brendan O'Dowd (845) 551-0563 or
Paul Byrne (845) 800 2124
('A Drop of the Irish' can be heard on 1110 AM and live via the Internet on Sundays from 12 to 1PM)
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LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY
Today is Lincoln's Birthday, to read what Linccoln had to say about the anti-immigrant Know-Nothing Party of his day, click HERE.
2 comments:
The night in Monroe was well planned and coordinated. The music from the bands, Irish dancing and pipe band all served to make it a memorable night. The following people deserve special mention; Dennis Brown, Brendan O' Dowd and Paul Byrne. It should be noted that Brendan and Paul are running a bus to Washington. Feel free to call Brendan at (845) 551-0563. Be part of something that can change immigration law in this country by joining us in DC on March 7.
Absolutely it was a great night in Monroe.
Thanks to the AOH for supporting a worthwhile event.
Remember this it a by-partisan issue and all moderate commonsense residents of this great country realize that there has to be immigration reform. The ‘hardliners’ who espouse deporting every undocumented immigrant do not factor in the essential economic productivity that these people bring to the table. Instead of complaining about South American immigrants who DO work in jobs that no American dreams their kids will take, they should be expressing their anger about Corporate America exporting blue and white collar jobs overseas to the Mid and Far East
I as an Americans am behind Legalize the Irish
Letthemstay
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