PRESS GANG - The traditional Irish quartet The Press Gang in concert on February 7 at 7:30 pm at the Mother Aerie Eagle's Hall, 8201 Lake City Way NE, Seattle.  The Press Gang fuses the talents of squeezebox player Christian "Junior" Stevens, fiddler Alden Robinson, flute-player and vocalist Hanz Araki, and guitarist Owen Marshall into a high-octane musical partnership. The quartet blends their skill and fluency in traditional Irish music with their curiosity and aptitude for other styles.  

GAVIN CONCERTS - Frankie Gavin is synonymous with DeDannan, the globally renowned band he founded in the mid-1970s and Frankie will be in Concert February 18, 7:30 pm in Seattle at the Phinney Center Concert Hall, 6532 Phinney Ave N. There are also shows in Portland 2/17 - [email protected]; Olympia 2/19 - 360-705-2819; Vashon Island 2/21 - [email protected]; Bellingham 2/22 - brownpapertickets.com; and Port Townsend 2/23 - 360-379-3136. There is no more exciting fiddle or flute player in the world of Irish music today, and the Guinness Book of Records lists Frankie as the world's fastest fiddle player, clocking him at 150 beats per minute.

 

GAAGO - When signing up to watch live Gaelic Football and Hurling games from Ireland at GAAGO, please make sure to use the Seattle Gaels GAAGO club code  096CS17 when signing up. That way the Gaels will get credit. For the $149 fee you can watch a package of 125 GAA games live (or watch them later) on your own computer.

   

U2 CONCERT - Irish rock group U2 will play Century Link Field in Seattle on Sunday, May 14, touring 'The Joshua Tree' album in celebration of the 30-year anniversary of the band's seminal album. Each show on the tour will include a performance of The Joshua Tree in its entirety, the album which in 1987 catapulted U2 into super-stardom and which went on to sell 25 million copies.

 

JOE HEANEY FILM - The life story of legendary seannós singer Joe Heaney is being brought to the screen in THE SONG IN GRANITE, an exploration of the man and his music. With an approach that marries traditional narrative episodes with documentary footage, the film celebrates the music that Joe Heaney created while also painting an unflinching portrait of Heaney, the man. Shot in black-and-white, several Irish actors are portraying Heaney at various ages starting in his native Connemara on the west coast of Ireland. The first non-American to be awarded funding from the National Endowment of the Arts, Heaney wrote more than 500 songs before his death in Seattle in 1984 at the age of 64. At the time he was attached to the Musicology Department at the University of Washington.

 

HUGH DUFFY, SJ - Best wishes to Fr. Hugh Duffy, the Jesuit priest and Gaelic scholar from Dublin who was a Professor at Seattle University for many years until his return to Ireland three years ago. He had successful aortic valve replacement heart surgery in Dublin just before Christmas and appears to be recovering nicely. If you'd like to drop a note of encouragement, write him at:  Fr. Hugh Duffy, S.J., Jesuit House of Writers, 35-36 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.

 

AVIATION & IRELAND - Washington State's economy is very much tied to the Irish economy. 3 planes each month being built in Boeing's Renton plant have been purchased by Irish airline Ryanair. And that's through 2023, maintaining at least 10,000 jobs in the state for the next six years! Nine of the world's top 10 airplane leasing companies are headquartered in Ireland. According to the Irish Times , the Aviation sector contributes more than €4 billion to Irish economy.

 

BOEING ORDER - GE Capital Aviation Services ( GECAS ), an Irish-American commercial aircraft financing and leasing company has placed an order for 75 MAX 8s, valued at about $3.8 billion, boosting Boeing's net order tally for 2016 to more than 600 airplanes. GECAS is the largest commercial airline leasing/financing company in the world. The company was based in Ireland and originally staffed by former Guinness Peat Aviation employees, but now has three global headquarters, located in  Shannon, Co. Clare, Singapore, and Norwalk, Connecticut.

 

MINISTERIAL VISIT - Dara Murphy TD, the Irish government Minister of State for European Affairs, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection , visited Seattle in late January for meetings with IT companies in the Seattle area. While here the minister was hosted by Irish Network Seattle at a wine and cheese Reception, and participated in a Panel Discussion and audience Q&A on the theme "Brexit, Data Control and the EU: European Business in the new, Old World." See photos and a video at facebook.com/irishnetworkseattle.

 

FOSP ENTERTAINMENT - Renowned violinist and producer Geoffrey Castle has been producing his "St. Patrick's Celebration" for the past 12 years and his Celtic Christmas Celebrations for the past 9 years. He and his band will be performing for the Friends of St. Patrick at their Annual Banquet which this year is on Sunday, March 12 at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Capitol Hill. Special guests at the Banquet include Galway Mayor Noel Larkin, and Pulitzer-prize winning author Tim Egan. More details at www.FOSP.org.

 

SEATTLE-IRELAND FLIGHTS - Flights from Seattle to Dublin for $390 R/T are listed as being available in September and October of this year. The drawback is that you mustn't mind extra stops or date restrictions. But if you want to visit Ireland, have plenty of time but not that much money, it may be worthwhile checking out.