Members of the Irish community gathered at a memorial Mass in New York Thursday to remember Sen. Edward Kennedy just over 12 weeks after his death. The senator’s son, Edward Kennedy Jr., Christine Quinn, Speaker of New York City Council, and Irish Consul General Niall Burgess were among those present.

Irish America magazine, our sister publication, celebrated 25 years in style last week. We started all those years ago with a cover story that featured five leading Irish Americans - Tip O’Neill, Ronald Reagan, John McEnroe, Maureen O’Hara and Ted Kennedy.

The great review in The New York Times on Monday for "The New Electric Ballroom," the new play by Irish playwright Enda Walsh, further reinforces the remarkable story of Irish success in New York in recent years.

The inaugural meeting of the newly formed Irish American Leadership Council took place last Friday in New York, with a robust exchange of ideas among members and Irish government leaders on how to maximize the multi-tiered relationship between Ireland and the Irish community in the U.S.

The Irish population in America should rally around immigration reform, said Micheal Martin, Minister for Foreign Affairs, in New York on Saturday. Reform will take place in the first three months of 2010, and the question of undocumented Irish will be part of a comprehensive review of the immigration system.

New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein announced his proposal to create a high school named in honor of the late Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt at a memorial service to celebrate McCourt’s life and work held at Symphony Space in upper Manhattan last week.

An unmistakably Irish memorial service was held in upper Manhattan on Tuesday night when the life and work of the incomparable Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish-American writer, was commemorated in story and song.

The Irish Network is an Irish networking group for professionals in New York. Ninety per cent of its members are Irish rather than Irish American, and while they’re not necessarily fresh-off-the-boat, many of them are new to the States.

Welcome to our second annual Most Influential Women list, dedicated to saluting the ladies who make things happen in all walks of Irish-American life.

GAA players in Rockland County will soon have the pleasure of training and competing in a state of the art football pitch in 2010.

While the New York Fleadh held in Pearl River last weekend wouldn’t approximate the level of drama or attendance of the All-Ireland, there was a parallel revelry as the 2009 senior champions, the River Rogues, left the competition hall to perform nearby at Christy’s Pub full of exuberance and satisfaction over the achievements that not only reflected well of them but of the entire Pearl River community.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin will launch The Senior Help Line USA at the New York Irish Center in Long Island City, Queens on Thursday.

Do you know an Irish woman who deserves to be acknowledged for the outstanding work she does throughout the year? We’re sure you do and we want to hear from you.

Irish photographer John Minihan's portraits of the famous, including Samuel Beckett, Edna O'Brien, and Francis Bacon, have established him as one of the finest portrait photographers of his generation. This week the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Brian Cowen will open a new exhibition of Minihan's work chronicling the golden years of America's most elderly Irish immigrants at the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan. CAHIR O'DOHERTY talks to the celebrated portrait artist about his legendary work.

This week New York's first ever Irish theater festival will take to the stage, featuring nine exciting new plays by Ireland's most celebrated playwrights. CAHIR O'DOHERTY talks to the festival's artistic director George Heslin about how and why he made this extraordinary new festival happen.

THIS weekend New York's first ever Irish theater festival, called 1st Irish 2008, will begin at the Theaters.

Irish American organizations in the U.S. and friends of President-elect Barack Obama in Ireland are gearing up for what are expected to be historic inauguration celebrations next week.

The National University of Ireland Galway honored former President Bill Clinton and well-known Irish-American philanthropist Loretta Brennan Glucksman at its annual U.S. gala dinner held in the Metropolitan Club in New York on Monday night.

IT was an extraordinary evening at the residence of Irish Consul General Niall Burgess and his wife Marie last Thursday night when the first ever "50 Most Influential Women" came together as a group. It was the first time in Irish American history that the role of Irish American women from business, community, Wall Street and voluntary organizations had been acknowledged.

It was clearly a popular thing to do.

THERE were over 100 present at the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) meeting in the Bronx on Tuesday evening, October 21. It was a fine crowd considering the midweek night, and the level of interest in immigration reform is still clearly very high in the community.

Ciaran Staunton, the volunteer vice chairman of ILIR, and Kelly Fincham, the only full time employee and executive director, briefed those present on what has been happening with immigration reform.

FRIDAY was not only the first of February, it was also the first time the Aisling Irish Community Center in Yonkers held a special ceremony to honor Millicent Beckford, the Jamaican lady who spent nine years looking after 100-year-old Co. Kerry native Hannah Murphy who passed away in January.Beckford, 60, was invited up to the center on Friday to accept a caregiver of the year award, and meet with the senior group who gathers there weekly.

THE United Irish Counties (UIC) in New York recently launched a website in an effort to "unite the county associations through one centralized hub," said UIC officer and president of the Limerick Association Maurice Landers, who spoke to the Irish Voice about the new site and its function.The idea of a UIC website stemmed from a meeting held at the then Irish Consul General Tim O'Connor's residence in 2006. Members of the UIC, including Landers and then president Mike Keane, sat down with O'Connor and past president of the Sligo Association Bridie O'Reilly to "re-develop" the association and move forward.

SIX prominent Irish artists short-listed to compete in the 2007 Irish American Arts Awards in New York have withdrawn their names from the competition. On Monday Noel Kelly, the director of Visual Artists Ireland in Dublin, stated that all six short-listed artists are no longer participating and are now seeking the return of their submissions.The six artists are Cecily Brennan, Noel Brennan, Mark Garry, Conor McFeely, Corban Walker and Lee Welch.

LEADER of Fine Gael, Enda Kenny TD, will visit New York this Thursday and Friday for various meetings and briefings. Kenny, who will arrive in New York on Thursday, June 26 will visit with Speaker of New York City Council Christine Quinn and in the afternoon will take a tour of the lower East Side Tenement Museum. On Thursday evening, Kenny will attend a Fine Gael fundraising dinner in the Manhattan Club for his party.

TAOISEACH (Prime Minister), Brian Cowen arrived in New York Tuesday, July 15 for a number of meetings with business leaders and the Irish American community.Cowen will address the Wall Street 50 awards dinner hosted by the Irish Voice's sister publication, Irish America magazine, on Thursday evening at the New York Yacht Club. Cowen will be sharing the stage with prestigious members of the Irish American business community, including keynote speaker Brendan McDonagh, CEO of HSBC North America Holdings, Noreen Culhane from the New York Stock Exchange, and CEO of ING U.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen visited New York last week, bringing with him a message of hope and prosperity for future relations with the U.S.Cowen, who arrived in New York last Tuesday evening on the Irish government jet, attended the official launch of a photographic exhibit by famous photographer John Minihan, featuring Irish immigrants, at the Irish Arts Center on West 51st Street shortly after he landed.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin says he will travel to Washington, D.C. after the presidential election to continue lobbying efforts on behalf of the undocumented Irish, and to push for creation of a new E-3 visa program that would allow for a more extensive exchange of workers between Ireland and the U.

The Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) and the Irish Consul General of New York Niall Burgess will host a community meeting in Yonkers, on Tuesday, October 21 to discuss the new J visas and the issue of the undocumented.

Kelly Fincham, executive director of ILIR, told theIrish Voice that a meeting was necessary to facilitate the masses of calls the ILIR office has received since the Irish and U.S.

Irish President Mary McAleese launched New York's first helpline for Irish seniors last Thursday at the Irish Consulate in New York.

Speaking to an audience of Irish immigrants via a live video link from Galway, where she was attending the 10th anniversary of the Galway Senior Helpline, McAleese told the U.S.

Business 100 Celebrations

Irish America celebrated its annual Business 100 Awards on November 20 with a luncheon at the Yale Club in Manhattan. U.S.

St. Brigid's Spared by $20 Million Gift

"For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we don't see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."

(Romans 8:24,25)

The patience and prayers of the parishioners of St.

When the annual cultural conclave known as APAP rolls into New York on a wintry weekend in a city that prides itself on being the cultural capital of the world, it sets in motion a tsunami of much needed work for artists and presenters and all those who rely on them. So fertile and multicultural is this yearly confluence of artistry that it continues to interest me weeks after it ends. And rather than weigh in with the downward trends all around us, there should be room for optimism and nourishment of our everyday lives if we turn to local arts venues to enrich us, rather than all the financial vehicles that have gone off course.