New York -- Today I once again had the pleasure of communing with several dozen gathered at the Irish Consulate’s monthly and public “First Friday Business Breakfast.” Imbibing orange juice and coffee ordered up by the consulate, I had a welcome chance to chat about Irish affairs and The Wild Geese’s growth with WG’s project publicist and fellow member John Lee, LPM Strategies Leo McGuire, the Irish Business Organization’s Sean McNeill, and, from the Consulate Staff, Andy Carney, chanteuse and Kerry native Mary Deady, Longford native, WG Heritage Partner and superb fiddler Marie Reilly and Roscommon’s Gerard Shivnan, one of the mainstays of New York City’s Manhattan Gaels Irish Football Club.

Sean McNeill reminded me of several IBO upcoming events, including Wednesday’s “Networking Evening,” its monthly Networking Breakfast on April 16 at Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel, and the IBO Golf Classic on May 20 at Pelham Bay Golf Course, Bronx, N.Y.  

Brittany Doherty, along with her comrade Brendan, both of the Manhattan Gaels, invited all to the team’s weekly practice session at Randall’s Island Field 74,  a lovely pitch according to Britanny. She says she is one of five women on the team’s distaff side, a number that the Gaels are looking forward to boosting with the advent of warmer weather. You can connect with the Gaels at Field 74 every Tuesday evening, from 7:30 p.m. To 9:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.ManhattanGaels.com.  

Andy Carney shared his fascinating immigration story, departing Ballaghdereen, County Roscommon, in 1955, spending several years in Manchester, England, working construction, returning to Ireland for a year before moving stateside. His experience offered a welcome window into the Irish experience in Britain during that period, when young Irishmen resident there were subject to Britain’s draft and a typically unwelcome place in Britain’s fight to hang onto the remnants of its empire, in Africa and the Mediterranean.

I picked up some complementary items there that I’d be happy to send to members, including the April / May issue of Irish America magazine, featuring Vice President Joe Biden on the cover, and a copy of the Fall / Winter 2012 edition of Eire–Ireland journal, published by The Irish American Cultural Institute. First come first serve — one item per member! Contact me, Gerry Regan. WG