Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach.
( We'll live to fight another day)
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Everywhere I looked on Ladies Day 2013 I seemed to see Daithí OSé.
Daithi flirting with the girls and posing for a picture
Fraternising with the horsey crowd and picking up tips.
Chatting to winning trainer, JJ OHanlon
Judging the fashion with Celia Holman Lee.
Interviewing the final 15 in The Best Dressed Lady contest.
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So
which is the most Irish town in America?
The answer to this question is Scituate, according to a story in Irish Central.
Have you ever heard of it?
Scituate
30 miles from Boston is home to the highest population density of Irish
Americans in the U.S.
In
the latest census data almost 50 percent of residents there are of Irish
decent. It is one of a cluster of towns on Boston’s South Shore that
Irish have colonized. At least 44 percent of the population in Braintree,
Hull, Marshfield, Avon, Pembroke, and Milton claim Irish ancestry
also.according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
But
some folks disputed our figures.
Namely
the folks in Breezy Point, New York and Spring Lake New Jersey begged to differ
-- both claiming the title.
At
first glance it appeared they had a case......
Breezy
Point has the highest numbers of Irish according to the census, at
60.3. But the problem is the beautiful area on the outskirts of Rockaway in
Queens is not a proper incorporated town.
It
is actually a massive co-operative combining three smaller areas.
In
1962 the residents purchased 500 acres of land from the government at below
value cost and the community became a co-operative.
The
Census Bureau says only that it has the highest number of Irish per zip code,
not that it is the largest town with Irish population.
So
Scituate fends off that challenge.
Now
Spring Lake New Jersey is also claiming the prize and indeed the US census for
2000 awards them that title -- or does it?
Like
Breezy Point, Spring Lake is an ocean community that swells with vacationers.
during the summer.
It
is famous for the shark attacks in 1916 that killed four victims and
later inspired Peter Benchley to write ‘Jaws.’
On
the Irish front the census in 2000 said that 39 per cent of the
population was of Irish extraction.
But
Scituate, a much larger town, at 17,000 plus residents as against 3,500 has almost
50 per cent.
So
Scituate wins that too.
And
keeps its title as most Irish town in America.
Adding
insult to injury for New York and New Jersey six other towns in Massachusetts
have a larger Irish population.
No
wonder quarterback Tom Brady is so popular here.
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This is a 1937 ad for briquettes. The P and F referred to is the Peat Fuel Company. The prospect of a representative coming to interview one sounds a bit daunting.
The Peat Fuel Company closed in 1939 and Lullymore briquette factory was re-opened by the Turf Development Board in 1940 due to the fuel shortage created by the war.
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Young people helping other young people
The above link is to the promotional video from Louise, Chloe and the gang at Xistance Youth Café. Their project is called Picture my World and it is a 2014 calendar of beautiful photographs. But this is a calendar with a difference. It has all the contact details for support services for young people in crisis.
The calendar will be delivered free to every young person attending a second level school in Kerry. The thinking behind the calendar idea is that while you might lose a business card or a scrap of paper with a phone number, if you hang a calendar on your wall it will be there at hand if you need help.
This is a marvellous initiative and the team behind it are to be commended for their efforts to help us in Kerry lose that chilling title as "the county with the highest rate of suicide in Ireland"
