TORONTO ROSECOLOMBE NADEAU-O’SHEAHi! I’m Colombe Aingeal Nadeau-O’Shea. I’m 26 years old and was born and raised in the beautiful city of Toronto. I am half French Canadian and half Irish. My grandparents, aunt and uncle hail from Dublin. They came over in 1954, and once settled here had a family.

I went to an arts high school to follow my passion for visual arts (I’ve been painting since I was seven, had a solo show at 12, and had pieces hanging in the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto for eight years). I ended up majoring in photography and dance! I also grew up playing the piano (brought to Toronto from Dublin!), and figure skating.After high-school I went to Wilfrid Laurier University, where I majored in Psychology and minored in French (I’m bilingual, and currently learning Spanish). I then took a year off, worked, and traveled the world for three months. Upon my return, I went back to school to get my Master’s degree in Fashion Theory from Ryerson University.After school (and traveling solo through South America for five weeks), I started my career as a business etiquette consultant Corporate Class Inc. I loved it, but something was missing! I took a step back from that full-time role (currently still a contractor there) to join a non-profit tech start-up. I couldn’t be more excited!Some of my hobbies and passions include (but aren’t limited to): painting, working out, traveling (been to nearly 30 countries so far, and counting!), volunteering (a huge part of my life), animals (including my ones at home – Jax, a ball python and Charlie, a budgie), music, reading, high-adrenaline sports (like sky-diving and scuba-diving), hiking, spending time with friends and family, and living and promoting a vegan lifestyle.I’m so thrilled and honoured to represent Toronto in this years’ Rose of Tralee Festival!

https://creative.ireland.ie/en‘Imagining an Irish Culture for the Future – Representing a new Ireland and engaging future generations of the Irish abroad’Panel discussion with Q&A examining the opportunities to use Irish cultural activities andsupports to reach greater numbers and locations of the Irish diaspora. With a specialpresentation on the recently launched Creative Ireland’Creative Ireland Programme— Culture, Wellbeing and the Creative SocietyCreative Ireland is the Government’s Legacy Programme for Ireland 2016 – a five-year initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which places creativity at the centre of public policy.It is a high-level, high-ambition, all-ofgovernment initiative to mainstream creativity in the life of the nation so that individually and collectively, in our personal lives and in our institutions, we can realise our full creative potential.Creative Ireland is a culture-based programme designed to promote individual, community and national wellbeing. The core proposition is that participation in cultural activity drives personal and collective creativity, with significant implications for individual and societal wellbeing and achievement.Creative Ireland is the main implementation vehicle for the priorities identified in Culture 2025/Éire Ildánach, the draft cultural policy published by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in July 2016, which sees a vibrant cultural ecosystem as essential to society. Culture 2025/Éire Ildánach states that arts and culture are intrinsic to the Irish State, acknowledges the need to increase access to, and participation in, the arts, boost our creative industries, and preserve our heritage with a particular focus on language, landscape and the environment.Creative Ireland as a 2016 legacy project is inspired by the extraordinary public response to the Centenary: the thousands of events, largely culture-based, and unprecedented public participation that brought us together in shared reflections on identity, culture and citizenship that combined history with arts, heritage and language.Creative Ireland will bring coordination and focus to existing culture-based policies and initiatives – and lead to ambitious new actions.Creative Ireland is a wellbeing strategy for people, but it will also enable a representation of Ireland to the outside world that is well grounded, widely understood and meaningful. Creative Ireland will coordinate and enable the construction of that representation, seeking coherence among all stakeholders and placing a clear focus on our rich cultural heritage and our creativity.Creative Ireland is underpinned by the key values should be identified in Culture 2025/Éire Ildánach. They are:    The intrinsic value of culture    The value of culture to our lives and our communities    The right of everyone to participate in the cultural life of the nation    The importance of the Irish language, our cultural heritage, folklore, games, music and the uniqueness of our Gaeltacht areas    The value of cultural diversity, informed by the many traditions and social backgrounds now in Ireland    The value of culture as a means of fostering a more sustainable future for Ireland, including through economic and social policy    The value of culture in presenting Ireland to the world.Moderator: John Concannon (Creative Ireland)Eithne Considine Shankar (Irish Film Festival Ottawa)Aidan Connolly (New York Irish Arts Centre)Pat Daly (GAA Director of Games Development & Research)

Aogán made history in 2016 by becoming the first man from Cavan to be elected to the office of GAA President. He is the first man to be elected to the role from the province of Ulster since Monaghan native Seán McCague, who served from 2000-2003.

He visited Ottawa Canada in August 2017 and talked about the role of the GAA in a global context for the Irish diaspora.

Ó Fearghail is a native of Maudabawn, a rural area close to the town of Cootehill in Co. Cavan. His club is Drumgoon Éire Óg, the first ever winners of the All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship. He is the Principal of Dernakesh National School, of which he himself is a former pupil.He founded the juvenile section at Drumgoon and trained U12 teams at the club for over 25 years. He served as Club Secretary throughout the 1980s, and was heavily involved in the development and establishment of the club's playing facilities at Boyle Park.He served on the Cavan County Board for 12 years in various roles, including Irish Officer, Development Officer, Secretary for the Cavan Centenary Year Committee (1984) and as the county's representative to the Ulster Council.He has been a member of the Ulster Council for 25 years (1989-2014), serving in all officer roles. He was PRO from 2001-2004, Treasurer from 2004-2007, Vice Chairman from 2007-2010 and President from 2010-2013.At national level, he has served on the PR and Presentations Committee, the Competitions Control Committee (CCC), Coiste na Gaeilge, and the Strategy Implementation Committee.He was Chairman of the Information Technology Committee and served on the GAA's Management Committee (Coiste Bainistí) from 2010-2013.

Peter Mangan came up with the idea for the The Freebird Club when he started renting a cottage he owns in Kerry to holidaymakers. His father, a semi-retired widower, was on hand to meet and greet the visitors who loved this personal touch while Mangan snr also enjoyed the social interaction and meeting new people.Watching his father’s multiple roles as welcoming party crossed with tour guide, Peter Mangan began thinking about a framework that could facilitate peer-to-peer homestays for independently-minded older adults who like to travel. He started working on the idea in early 2014 and in a few months time will launch The Freebird Club, a web-based community travel platform for the over-50s .Freebird is a bit like Airbnb but with its own distinctive twists. Twist one is that Freebird is first and foremost about social interaction, so hosts are always present for visits. Secondly, it’s a club, so people pay a small membership fee to join. Thirdly, members (both hosts and guests) upload their profiles so people can identify and connect with like-minded individuals.

For over 35 years, singer Mary Black has been a dominant presence in Irish music, both at home and abroad. She has shared stages, tv shows and recording studios with some of the most revered performers of her time. She has also played a frontline role in bringing Irish music, past and present, to an increasingly appreciative and ever-growing global audience. The San Francisco Chronicle has described her as "One of the best interpretative singers around".To the acclaim and awards Mary has received over the years from both the public and the critics must also be added the esteem she has generated from her fellow artists.  Indeed, many of them have recorded and performed live with her, including Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Joan Baez and Van Morrison, not to mention a host of Irish traditional musicians and singers. Along the way she has also recorded and performed with her siblings in The Black Family and with her highly successful sister Frances.Coming from an intensely musical family, with her mother a fine singer and her father an entertaining fiddle player, Mary first came to the music public’s attention in the late ‘70s as a member of the group General Humbert with whom she recorded and toured. In 1983 she teamed up with guitarist/producer Declan Sinnott (later to become Christy Moore’s musical sidekick) and released her eponymously-named debut solo album. It reached No. 4 in the Irish Charts and is ranked among the best Irish albums of the early 1980's.  It won her the Irish Independent Arts Award for Music, the first in a staggering sequence of awards that continue to come her way.She was named Entertainer of the Year in 1986 and Best Female Artist in 1987 and 1988.But her popularity reached a new level with the release of the pioneering album No Frontiers in 1989. It generated triple-platinum sales as Mary's reputation began spreading far beyond her native shores to Europe, Australia, Japan and the USA, thanks to her superb stage shows and the success of her recordings in those markets. Babes in the Wood came in 1991, arriving in the Irish charts in the No 1 slot, and was followed by two sell-out shows at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall.  Her UK concerts prompted hugely positive reviews from The Guardian, The Times and The Telegraph. She was also featured on the cover of the US music trade Bible Billboard which described her as "a firm favorite to join the heavy-hitting ranks of such Irish artists as Enya, Sinéad O’Connor and Clannad's Máire Brennan in the international marketplace.” They were right.In 2002 Mary was the subject of the revealing documentary Still Believing. It celebrated her extraordinary life in music, tracing her progress from her birthplace in Dublin’s inner city on a journey that has seen her conquer the musical world. Its recording was followed by a video of Mary and her band filmed on the final night of a triumphant week-long run at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin – one of Mary’s favourite venues. 2008 marked the 25th anniversary of Mary's first solo album, and to celebrate the momentous occasion Mary released a special compilation double album 25 Years/25 Songs. It featured a personal, hand-picked selection of gems spanning Mary's career and it still serves as a testament to the extraordinary range and quality of both her vocal prowess and her astute song selection. Mary recorded two brand new songs for the project, and the album went straight to No. 1 in the Irish charts, where it remained for a staggering five weeks, spending over seven months in the Irish top 40!

Moderator Tim O'Connor, Sinead Crowley, Joe Thompson, Cathy Murphy, Stephen Ahern

Sinead CrowleyIIBN is the leading network of Irish entrepreneurs and business professionals.  The objective of IIBN is to facilitate greater communication and connectivity between successful Irish business people all over the world with a view to identifying and exploiting new business opportunities.IIBN achieves its objectives in the following ways:• By facilitating networking among members at local and global level• By fostering and nurturing Irish entrepreneurs• By mentoring the next generation of Irish entrepreneurs

Joe ThompsonThe Irish Australian Support Association of Queensland Inc. (IASAQ) is a Charity Organisation that looks after the Welfare of  Irish Australians from all backgrounds, faiths & walks of life, in Queensland.  Funded by the Irish Government under the Emigrant Support Programe from Department of Foreign affairs and Trade, with a sister organisations in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth which along with the Irish Embassy in Canberra, the Consulate in Sydney and the Honorary Consulate in Perth, provide continent wide access to information and supports for the Diaspora in Australia.The aim is to support the Irish community in Queensland where possible, in times of need or distress.  They may require help in accessing services, need information for newly arrived, require a new Irish passport, or need support if they find themselves in a tricky situation.  

Cathy MurphyI/CAN gives information—not advice. Citizenship and Immigration Canada is your main resource. I/CAN has no immigration lawyers or consultants on staff.I/CAN provide:    information on work permits and permanent residency    seminars facilitated by volunteer specialists    essential guides and up-to-date news    helpful settlement links    direction to services in your community if you are in crisis    a witness for your passport application (in Toronto only)

Stephen AhernIrish Outreach San Diego is a vibrant, multi-service center focused on assisting;    Irish citizens    Those of Irish ancestry    Irish visitors (summer students) in San Diego.Established in 1999, we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves the Irish community in San Diego and throughout Southern California. We are the regional member center of the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers (CIIC) and are officially recognized by the Irish Consulate in San Francisco. We work with many local entities to insure the Irish are welcomed, supported in the community, and their interests and rich cultural heritage are promoted within the region. We are particularly focused on assisting new arrivals and the vulnerable and elderly in the Irish community.

Lochlann Scott, Irish Abroad Counselling Service – Cabhrú:Cabhrú helps to address the emotional support needs of distressed and vulnerable Irish emigrants. To that end Cabhrú provides Free Online Counselling Service; which is available 7 days a week!Helplink.ie identified the need for Cabhrú through our award winning online counselling service. Since it was established in 2012, this service has supported not only distressed people in their homes nationally but also many Irish citizens abroad.Our counsellors have already been supporting the Irish abroad that have been experiencing the following: bullying, depression, loneliness, lack of familiar support structure, transitional stress and anxiety, displacement, self-esteem and addiction issue.With the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the support of the GAA and An Post, Helplink Support Services launched free online counselling service on September 10th 2016; initially for the Irish in Australia and now for Irish residents in Canada.With the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the support of the GAA and An Post, Helplink Support Services launched our free online counselling service on September 10th 2016; initially for the Irish in Australia and now for Irish residents in Canada.http://www.helplink.ie/cabhru

Karen McHugh, CEO Safehome Ireland:Safe Home Ireland was set up as a Pilot Project in January 2000 by a local GP and our current Chairperson, Dr. Jerry Cowley. At that time, as a rural GP and Chairman of a Voluntary Housing scheme based in Mulranny, a number of people enquired about the possibility of their elderly relatives returning home to live in their native area. Publicity around the Pilot Project increased with queries coming from all over the world, highlighting the demand and need for a separate organisation. Successful campaigning and support from the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade ensured that Safe Home was registered as an Organisation in its own right in 2002.Over the years, Safe Home Ireland has evolved from simply providing a housing option for older Irish born emigrants. Alongside this role, we now provide an information and advisory service for anyone considering a move to Ireland and we offer support for those who having moved back, require assistance.Safehome assist qualifying* (per criteria below) older Irish born emigrants to return to secure accommodation in Ireland. We liaise with Housing Associations in Ireland to explore appropriate secure housing options for qualifying older Irish emigrants seeking to return to social housing.Qualifying Criteria:    Older Irish born emigrants living abroad    Aged 57 Yrs +    Capable of Independent living    Living in rented accommodation abroad and unable to provide accommodation for themselves (from their own income/savings) on return to Ireland.http://www.safehomeireland.com/

Dublin GPO – headquarters of the Irish rebellion 1916

The 101st anniversary of Easter Tuesday 1916 has passed. It was the day that Gerald Keogh was gunned down at dawn by Anzac troops who were defending Trinity College Dublin against Irish freedom fighters.

Anzac Day 2015 was also the 100th anniversary of the landing of troops from Australia and New Zealand at Gaba Tepe on the Gallipoli Peninsula. This event is often described as the birth of nationhood of these countries.[1]

Given that the 1916 Rising is also considered symbolic of Ireland’s birth pangs into nationhood, Gerald’s death represents a double irony: an accidental clash of potent national symbols, executed through the heroic figures of Irish rebel and Anzac digger.

The collision of revered traditions becomes the starting point for our examination of identity, which is named after Gerald, the victim of this unintended clash.

We begin with the question:

Responses are often diametrically opposed, polemic or trite, but not necessarily enlightening.

The Irish Times asked readers to tweet their definition of “Irishness”.[2] Their selection included: #beingirishmeans …

• Having freckles – Niall
• You can mime the whole national anthem – Colm Keegan
• Nothing really. Other than buying into the view that there could possibly be an all-encompassing national stereotype – Cathal McQuaid

Academic notions of Irish identity do not guarantee that they are more informative than off-the-cuff tweets. Fintan O’Toole contends that: For very long time now, being Irish has meant negotiating between lots of different allegiances, experiences and contexts.[3] Perhaps this is why the Irish … seem to lack a clear sense of themselves and their own culture.[4] Desmond Fennell takes the argument to its extreme, contending that Ireland has become … a nothing mosaic with no binding identity.[5] In a milieu of cultural confusion it is understandable why Dermot Casey would make the comment that he … never had a good answer to the question ‘What does it mean to be Irish?’’[6]

What a sad fate—many will say—if the Irish emerge after a century of freedom, only to find that they have lost the very essence of what they set out to establish in the first place: their own identity. But what is IDENTITY?

http://ourownidentity.com/

In 1853, caught up in the excitement and foreseeing the benefits of a railway, the municipalities in the United Counties of Lanark and Renfrew secured land and agreed to underwrite the Brockville and Ottawa Railway Company (B&O) to the tune of £200,000.

The first phase of the railway started at Brockville and ran to Smiths Falls. It was to be continued to Arnprior and Pembroke, with several branch lines to Westport, Newboro, and Merrickville. Only a line to Perth was realized.

The inaugural run from Brockville to Smiths Falls began on a sub-zero February morning in 1859. Travelling at 15 mph, the wood-burning locomotive carrying two coaches filled with passengers took 2 ½ hours to reach Smiths Falls. The trip to Perth took another 7 hours because of a broken coupling and lack of water. Five years of construction took a heavy toll on the B&O: interest payments could not be met and refinancing had to be arranged.

The line was extended to Carleton Place in 1859 and reached the Ottawa River through Almonte, Arnprior, and Sand Point in 1864. B & O turned over the right to build from Arnprior to Pembroke to Canada Central Railway and the line was extended through Renfrew County in the 1870s. Both companies were united under Canadian Pacific Railway Company and linked with a transcontinental network in 1881.