Durham Irish Association of Canada
WELCOME!
We invite anyone with Irish ancestry, whether a recent immigrant or a fifth generation Canadian of Irish descent, and anyone with an abiding interest in preserving Irish culture, to become a member of this vibrant group dedicated to the promotion and preservation of all things Irish. To find out more, please go to our Contact Us page and any listed member will be pleased to help you.
Thanks for visiting the home of The Durham Irish Association of Canada ! This is the place where you can check out all the latest news and photos. Be sure to check out the different pages on our site and sign up for the newsletter before you leave. Come back often as we will be updating the site frequently.Thanks !
To see upcoming events, go to our Calendar page and click through the months.
Date: Monday, January 30, 2012, 11:46 PM
Hi everyone! I would love if you can pass this email on to everyone you know. For those of you who don't know, I chair a contest in Toronto called The Rose of Tralee. We are part of an international festival (www.roseoftralee.ie) where young women of Irish ancestry from all around the world gather in Ireland every year and one is chosen to be an ambassador of the Rose of Tralee International Festival. I find that here, in Canada, there are many young women of Irish ancestry, with no connections to the Irish community, so they don't even know that this opportunity exists. Please pass on to anyone you know who may have, or know someone (coworker, siblings friends, cousins friends, neighbour, neighbour's friends sister's cousin's girlfriend, etc.), who has Irish Ancestry so they can pass on to others too. For any questions, please contact me at any time (905-621-1355). Information specific to Toronto can be found at www.irishculturalsocietyoftoronto/roseoftralee.
Win the trip of a lifetime to Ireland!
For any young woman, age 18-27 with Irish ancestry, here's your chance to make new friends, celebrate your heritage, and experience a lifetime trip to Ireland. You must be a resident of Canada for 3 or more years. Contact Sarah Nestor at TorontoRoseofTralee@hotmail.com to learn more on how to become the 2012 Toronto Rose of Tralee and meet others from all around Toronto and the world!
There is no greater advertisement for the Rose of Tralee than the friendships and adopted family you gain through participating in the festival. To become part of this family and to have the opportunity of a lifetime (honestly!) contact TorontoRoseofTralee@hotmail.com or 416-706-0015 for further information.
I know that some of you don't qualify, but please pass on to anyone you know with Irish Ancestry....everyone who is eligible should know about this opportunity!
Thanks!
Erin
http://spaces.msn.com/erinhinoz
Celtic Dreams in The Bronx:
Hello:
At the General Meeting last week, a couple of members mentioned seeing videos of a team of Bronx (New York) inner-city, immigrant children, whose Irish-born teacher inspired and motivated them by teaching them Irish dance, in a group called Celtic Dreams. She took them to Ireland on Aer LIngus, the first airplane trip for most of them. They received a typically warm reception in Ireland where they performed for rapturous audiences. Subsequently, as a direct result of this life-changing association, many of the students escaped their neighbourhoods and went on to higher education and prospects of a better life. It is a very heart-warming and inspiring story. If you would like to view several videos of this group of children, click on the following link. The first video is of the teacher herself, explaining the evolution of her group. I am sure you will enjoy this! Jonathan O'Mara
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZdUEnyn7_k (copy and paste into your browser's address box)
We are starting off 2012 on a great note, which is that our own Jonathan O'Mara is remaining as the official DIA Webmaster and will continue to put together a website that we can all browse and is easy to follow.
Please check below for the details on this and feel free to add things that you think would be of interest to the members from time to time. Thanks,
Marian
Note to DIA members:
Any submissions you may have can be sent to me through my email address or through this site on our Contact Us page. I hope you find the site easy to navigate.
While we strive to maintain accuracy and respect for the people portrayed either in print or image, sometimes errors or omissions can occur. If you have any concerns, questions or complaints about this site, please contact J. O'Mara, website administrator @ jon.omara@sympatico.ca or go through our "Contact Us" page on this site.
I thought perhaps the DIA members might be interested in knowing that the National Archives of Ireland (in partnership with the Canadian government) has digitised the Irish 1911 census for all 32 Counties in Ireland. It is FREE for anyone to view.
Ireland is unusual among English-speaking census-taking countries in that the original household manuscript returns survived. These are the forms filled out and signed by the head of each household on census night.
I think the DIA members will find it very exciting to look up their ancestors in the 1911 Irish Census and see their grandparent's, or great grandparent's handwriting and signature. Here's the link: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
Enjoy!
Frances
Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins hits Whitby:
I had the opportunity to meet and talk at some length with rock n' roll legend, Ronnie Hawkins, when he visited Whitby on September 13th, 2009. He appeared as spokesperson for Cambria, a Minnesota based company specializing in the production of quartz surfaces, at the open house for Eire Kitchens and Carpentry on Thickson Road in Whitby.
Ronnie Hawkins, 76, is a very funny and charming Southern gentleman, and is no doubt familiar to most readers, having been a strong presence on the Canadian music scene since the late 1950's, when he moved up here from Arkansas and became a permanent resident. Even before he settled here, he was already a teen idol by 1958 with hits such as, "Hey, Bo Diddley" and "Marylou". He has received many awards including Junos, and a SOCAN award for outstanding contribution to music in Canada, as well as being a member of the Canadian Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. He has played for every Prime Minister since Diefenbaker and has played for U.S. President Bill Clinton's inauguration, and Polish solidarity and government leader , Lech Walesa.
Having been a part of the very beginnings of rock n' roll, he knows most of the people who started it all. He told me intimate stories about Johnny Cash (a failed car salesman!) , Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, The Band (which he was responsible for forming and who backed Bob Dylan before branching out on their own), former Beatle, John Lennon and Yoko Ono (who stayed on his Mississauga farm with him for a week in 1969 and who sent him to China as a peace emissary), DJ Alan Freed, Hank Williams and his son, Hank Williams Junior, Bo Diddley (whom he really loved), Canada's Bobby Curtola, Stompin' Tom Connors, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young, former Beatle, Ringo Starr, whom he appeared with in Martin Scorcesie's film about The Band called "The Last Waltz", President Clinton, a fellow citizen of Akansas, and so many more. Ronnie Hawkins was instrumental in bringing much Canadian talent into the open by promoting and, in some cases, giving exposure through his band to people like David Clayton Thomas, Burton Cummings of The Guess Who, producer/composer David Foster, Jeff Healey, Lawrence Gowan, and Janis Joplin's Full Tilt Boogie Band, to name just a few. Ronnie appeared in several movies and even hosted his own television show in Canada. What a wonderful opportunity it was to talk to someone who was a pioneer of rock n' roll himself and who knew and interacted with so many of the seminal artists! He was very forthcoming and generous with his time. Ronnie Hawkins says he has slowed down somewhat and only plays about six concerts a year now.
Jonathan O'Mara
Sept. 13, 2009
On behalf of the DIA, I would like to thank the owner and staff of Eire Kitchens and Cabinetry for a wonderful open house and BBQ which they hosted today. Rock n' roll legend, Ronnie Hawkins, was on hand to talk and sign autographs. He was very charming and extremely generous with his time, regaling us with tales of his association with the likes of Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, John Lennon and Ringo Starr of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and countless other luminaries. He is a fine southern gentleman. Everyone on hand had a wonderful day. The food and drink were exceptional. We had a chance to go into the showroom and see the very intricate and beautiful cabinet work that Brad and his staff produce. Any of you who are thinking of remodeling your kitchen or need cabinetry of any sort, you would do well to drop in on Eire Kitchens at 108 Thickson Rd. in Whitby. This fine business will be featured on our "Links" page very soon. If you would like to see some photographs of the day, please visit our "Photos" page on the website. 'Bye for now. Jonathan O'Mara
Dear Irish Friend,
As Founder/Publisher of Irish America Magazine and Irish Voice newspaper, I wanted to let you know thatIrishCentral.com was launched on St.Patrick’s Day and is now the largest and fastest growing Irish community portal on the web. We had well over 250,000 readers on our first day. It was an extraordinary performance from a standing start. Among those who picked up IrishCentral stories were The New York Times, Washington Post, People, Huffington Post, ABC News and Yahoo News.
Please visit IrishCentral.com. Tell your friends and pass this email onto them.
Niall O'Dowd, Founder, IrishCentral.com
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