Events
Jan 25, Jan 26 | Irish Language Courses
In cooperation with Elms College, the Irish Cultural Center will offer two non-credit Irish language courses in the spring semester of 2010. INTRODUCTORY IRISH 1 Mondays, 6:30– 8:30 p.m. January 25 thru May 3 Introductory Irish 1 familiarizes students with the basic structure of the language, introduces common expressions and encourages students to carry on simple conversations in Irish. No prior knowledge of Irish is necessary. INTRODUCTORY IRISH 2 Mondays, 6:30– 8:30 p.m. January 25 - May 3, 2010
INTERMEDIATE IRISH 2 Tuesdays, 6:30– 8:30 p.m. January 26 - May 4, 2010 Intermediate Irish 2 is for students who have had several semesters of Irish and who wish to increase their ability to read, write, and converse in Irish. IRISH LANGUAGE STUDY GROUP 2 Tuesdays, 6:30– 8:30 p.m. January 26 thru May 4 Irish Study Group 2 is for students who are more advanced in their study of Irish and who wish to increase their ability to read, write, and converse in Irish.
Cost for both Introductory Irish and Irish Language Study Group: $150 each. Irish Cultural Center members receive a $50 discount. Join the Irish Cultural Center today!
Click here for additional information and Registration Form
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February 17, 2010 | Irish Film series - "How About You" (100 min, 2007, PG-13, Comedy/Drama) Staring Vanessa Redgrave, Imelda Staunton, Brenda Fricker Free spirit Ellie visits sensible sister Kate who runs a residential home in Ireland. When a family emergency sends Kate home, Ellie is left to cope with 4 difficult residents over the Christmas holiday. Based on a Maeve Binchy book. |
February 21, 2010 | Celtic Christian Spirituality with Sr. Ruth McGoldrick Celtic Spirituality is a multi-faceted spirituality that is enjoying a renaissance today. The early Christian Celts valued such paradoxical opposites as staying at home and wandering abroad, feminine leadership, hospitality, song, dance, prayer and pilgrimages. Their nearness to God and nature made them sensitive to the sacredness of boundaries that connect the seen and unseen worlds. Out of the Celtic Church the practice of having an “anam cara” or “soul friend” arose. This program is designed to explore some of the history and the values of Celtic Christians and the relevance of Christian Spirituality for today. |
February 24, 2010 | Irish Film series - "Ned Kelly" (100 min, 1970, PG, Action) Rescheduled from Feb 10
Staring Mick Jagger Rock superstar Mick Jagger playes the original Wild Colonial Boy, armored bandit Ned Kelly. When their mother is unfairly persecuted by police, Ned and his brother Dan earn money for her defense by selling homemade liquor. But what begins as a simple moonshine operation escalates into a series of confrontations with the law.
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February 28, 2010 | IRELAND TOUR INFORMATION SESSION Come and find out more about this “one-of-a-kind” custom tour—exclusively designed by the Irish Cultural Center for our 10th Anniversary! The Irish Cultural Center is sponsoring its 5th Custom Tour to Ireland. This New & Special 11-Day “Journey of the Soul” tour to Ireland (Sept. 4-14, 2010) will be to the East, West Coasts and Northern Ireland! Includes Westport, Donegal, Derry, Belfast, Dublin and so much more! Hear more about this exciting tour. Slide presentation & refreshments. Deposits of $300 will be taken to reserve your spot—For more information about the tour call Kathy Gallivan at (413) 536-9709 or the Center. Our Next Info Session is scheduled for: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2010 AT 2:00 P.M., Alumnae Room (2nd Floor), Dooley Campus Center, Elms College, Springfield Street, Chicopee. Tour is open to the public. |
March 07, 2010 | ST. PATRICK’S TEA & RAFFLE DRAWING – 2:00 p.m. Celebrate St. Patrick by clapping your hands and singing along with well-known Irish band, “THE HEALY’S” ! We will also be announcing our “10th Anniversary Raffle” winner with a Grand Prize of a “Trip for Two” to Ireland with the Irish Cultural Center’s September 2010 “Journey of the Soul” tour to the West and East Coasts and Northern Ireland OR $4,000 cash prize. Second Place is $500; Third Place is $100. RAFFLE TICKETS ON SALE UNTIL THE DRAWING ON MARCH 7TH OR UNTIL WE SELL 200 TICKETS! Call the Center Soon so You Don’t Miss Out! Middle School Essay Winners will also Receive Their Prizes. Event is Free and Open to the Public Dooley Campus Center, Elms College, 2:00 p.m. |
March 10, 2010 | BUS TRIP: PADDY MALONEY AND THE CHIEFTAINS IN CONCERT (Leave the Driving and Parking to us!) The Irish Cultural Center is sponsoring a bus trip to see The Chieftains’ one-night performance at the UMass Fine Arts Center—to hear the six-time Grammy Award winners and nineteen-time Grammy nominees! The Chieftains are recognized for bringing the appeal of traditional Celtic music to the world’s attention—and are considered the heart and soul of traditional Irish Music. Celebrating 44 years and 43 albums, they continue to collaborate with musical legends and maintain an international touring schedule—they are as fresh today as they were when they first began. The long-time coming performance of the legendary “Chieftains” will include founding member and front man Paddy Maloney (Uilleann pipes, tin whistle) and original members Matt Malloy (flute), Sean Keane (fiddle) and Kevin Conneff (bodhran & vocals). They have been honored by their own country by being officially named Ireland’s Musical Ambassador’s. YOU ARE SURE TO BE DAZZLED—THIS WILL BE A PERFORMANCE YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS! There will also be a special Pre-performance Irish Celebration in the Lobby to add to the excitement of the evening. BUS/CONCERT: Includes Transportation, Driver’s tip and Concert Ticket (Orchestra Section). Members: $45.50, Non-Members: $49.50 and Kids $35 (17 and under). BUS PICK-UP: 5:30 p.m., Gaylord Parking Lot, Corner of Springfield Street and Fairview Avenue, Elms College, Chicopee, MA FULL PAYMENT IS REQUIRED AT TIME OF YOUR RESERVATION--First Come, First Serve. No Refunds unless there is a waiting list/replacement. DEADLINE EXTENDED!! Reserve by JANUARY 19, 2010 to guarantee this discounted price! Tickets are Limited.
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March 21, 2010 | Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade Join us as we represent the Irish Cultural Center |
March 23, 2010 | Kevin O'Hara (Rescheduled) — Reads from his NEW book "A Lucky Irish Lad"  We are delighted to welcome back Kevin O’Hara for a reading from his NEW book “A Lucky Irish Lad.” He will also be showing a few family slides from his new book as well as from his 1,720 mile journey walking around the coast of Ireland with a donkey. Kevin O’Hara’s second book came out the this month and we are happy to invite him back for one of his first local appearances to read excerpts from his NEW book “A Lucky Irish Lad” before he launches a major book tour in March. If you enjoyed his first book, “Last of the Donkey Pilgrims”, you are sure to love this one! “A Lucky Irish Lad” is a memoir consisting of several short stories that take you from his birth in England to his homecoming from Vietnam. Kevin will capture your heart as he recounts his boyhood experiences growing up with two Irish parents and a houseful of siblings—eight all together! Wonderful stories told by a master storyteller that are filled humor and a great sense of Irish spirit! A genuine story of a “Lucky Irish Lad”! “This book will tug at your heart and make you cry tears of both sorrow and joy. It is a story about the Irish-American experience but it is much more--it’s the story of a generation growing up in the shadow of the Second World War and the start of a new age of hope and promise, a time when people believed that anything was possible as long as you dared to dream and had faith in yourself.” Amazon Kevin will also be selling & signing copies of his first book “Last of the Donkey Pilgrims”. If you haven’t read it—you will want a copy of this book too! Kevin O’Hara, a local author who resides in the town of Pittsfield, MA, where the family emigrated to back in the 1950’s. Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 7:00 p.m. in the Alumnae Library Theater (lower level), Elms College, Springfield Street, Chicopee, MA Light refreshments will be served. Event is free & open to the public.
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April 25, 2010 | Lecture by Catherine Shannon "The 1849 Wreck of the Brig St. John and its Commemoration" Sunday, April 25 at 2 pm Lecture by Catherine Shannon "The 1849 Wreck of the Brig St. John and its Commemoration" |
May 07, 2010 | Wine Tasting with an Irish Accent The Irish Cultural Center will host a Wine Tasting with an Irish Accent as a fundraiser to support the Elms College Irish Studies Program on Friday, May 7 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Mary Dooley Campus Center. |
July 26-30, 2010 | Celtic Adventures for Kids The Irish Cultural Center at Elms College is accepting registrations for its ninth annual Celtic Adventures for Kids, July 26-30, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Children from grades 1-9 take part in several classes daily: Irish language, music with songs and the tin whistle, literature and story telling, Irish dance, arts and crafts. The Maguire Center swimming pool is also available for daily use.
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Sep 4, 2010 - Sep 14, 2010 | Journey of the Soul - Tour of Ireland SEPTEMBER 4-14, 2010 JOURNEY OF THE SOUL – EAST & WEST COASTS & NORTHERN IRELAND TOUR Enjoy Ireland’s beautiful scenic coastline--visit historic & legendary attractions—join in traditional music and dance—sip tea and enjoy warm homemade scones by a warm turf fire—as you discover the charm of its people and experience the ancient and modern Ireland! The Irish Cultural Center is sponsoring its 5th Custom Tour to Ireland in 2010 (September 4-14, 2010). This 11-day scenic tour will take us to spectacular new places that we haven’t been to before—where they say “it’s different up here”! Touring the “West and East coasts and Northern Ireland”, we will stay in Westport, with multiple-night stays in Donegal, Derry, Belfast, and Dublin. We will tour the majestic Slieve League Cliffs (believed to be the tallest sea cliffs in Europe), visit the grave of Ireland’s celebrated Nobel prize winning poet, William Butler Yeat’s, in the shadows of Benbulben in County Sligo, tour the Belleek Pottery factory, Donegal (the tweed capital of Ireland), Omagh where we will visit the Ulster American Folk Park (one of the finest living historic museums in Ireland), embark on a guided walking tour (with a local guide) of the historic Derry Citywalls, tour the scenic Inishowen Peninsula, and visit Giants Causeway. We’ll then proceed along the Antrim coast to tour the beautiful Nine Glens of Antrim before reaching Belfast City. In Belfast, a local guide will take us on a tour into the sectarian areas including Falls Road, Shankill Road, the Peace Wall and also a visit to the Titanic Quarter. As we head toward Dublin we will stop in the Boyne Valley for a guided visit of the megalithic passage tomb of Newgrange (built around 3200 BC—more than 500 years older than the Egyptian Pyramids and predates Stonehenge by about 1,000 years!). We will end our tour with two nights in Dublin’s fair city with visits to famous historic sites like Kilmainham Jail and the Guinness Storehouse (celebrating 250 years!), with free time to explore Dublin or visit Trinity College and the Book of Kells. Watch our website for information about our next One-Hour Information Session (slide presentation & refreshments) to find out more about this “one-of a kind” tour. Deposits of $300 will be taken to reserve your spot. For more information about this unique tour call Kathy Gallivan at (413) 536-9709 or the Irish Cultural Center. Also, ASK about our RAFFLE for a chance to WIN THIS TRIP FOR TWO (sharing room) or $4,000 cash! 2nd place $500, 3rd place $100. Your $50 donation is tax deductible! |