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/ WELCOME TO THE 2018 G OLDEN BRIDGES CONFERENCE 8 1 0 2

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E A golden decade in a familiar home B M E

V By Ray O’Hanlon Gorta Mor Memorial in Lawrence’s O

N Immaculate Conception Cemetery. Former

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If you were going to build a literal bridge Ambassador to the Vatican Raymond L. o

h from America to Ireland, Boston Harbor Flynn will be the principal speaker. He will c E

would be as a good a place to start as any. be joined by Ireland’s Consul General to h s i If symbolism and heritage had any part in Boston, Michael Lonergan, and several AOH r I

the planning, it would be the most appropri - and LAOH national, state, and county /

ate starting point. Officers. m o The Irish have long considered Boston a “Burke was a member of Division Eight, c . o home away from home, an extension of their Ancient Order of Hibernians for over 40 h c e native place. years and served as an officer in various h s i They are not alone of course, but the capacities on national, state and county r i .

w links between Boston, between boards as well as on the division level. An w , and Ireland are standout, enthusiastic supporter of Irish history and w permanent, very special. culture, he was instrumental in organizing As such, there are many bridges and orchestrating annually Irish Heritage between the Bay State and the Emerald Isle: Month in the city of Lawrence. He was the cultural, social, emotional, and physical in founder and president of the Irish terms of trade and economic exchange. Foundation of Lawrence, Inc., and also the Hence Golden Bridges, an annual Irish Room and Hibernian Collection at the The Seaport Hotel is both venue and home for Golden Bridges. endorsement and celebration of all these South Lawrence Branch Library, which hous - links now a decade on the go in its favorite es one of the largest collections of Irish venue: the Seaport Hotel. books, media, memorabilia and periodicals senting. who is from Donegal, made a welcome The Golden Bridges conference took ini - in the Northeast.” The 2012 conference would welcome, return visit. tial flight in New York in 2007 but very The inaugural David Burke Award (it among a range of political figures from The West of Ireland was not forgotten in quickly took wing northward to its first would become more familiar as the Dave Massachusetts and Ireland’s Northwest, the big year, Chicago-based Senator Billy Boston gathering, in 2008, at the John F. Burke Award) was presented by Dave’s wife, Irish government minister Dinny McGinley, Lawless, a Galway native, being presented Kennedy Library where eleven Golden Pat, to a legendary son of Southie, Raymond and Minister Stephen Farry from the with the Courage of Connacht Award. Bridges awards were presented to ten indi - Flynn, former and U.S. Department of The Hea rt of Irish America Award, mean - viduals and one company. Those individuals ambassador to the Vatican. Employment and Learning. while, went to Massachusetts State were as varied as former congressman As well as the former mayor, a future One of the honorees that year bore a par - Representative Tim Whelan and broadcast - Marty Meehan and Ken Casey of the band mayor, Marty Walsh, was also a 2010 con - ticularly famous political name and that was er Seamus Mulligan, of the Irish hit Parade Dropkick Murphys. ference participant. Thomas P. O’Neill III. on radio station WROL, was recipient of the From that sacred space the conference In 2011, the conference returned to the The conference was notable for it being Dave Burke Award. moved the following year to the Seaport Seaport Hotel. It featured a “Showcase the occasion of the first woman winner of Minister Joe McHugh, whose portfolio Hotel and World Trade Center. Seminar on Northwest Ireland” and an the Dave Burke Award, Kathleen O’Toole, covered “Gaeilge, Gaeltacht and the Back in 2009, the Northeast/Northwest opening address by State Senate President one of the top law enforcement figures in Islands, made it back for the 2017 confer - flavor of the gathering was not confined to Therese Murray. Massachusetts. ence and was by now so familiar with its those areas. Golden Bridges has its own Away from the Seaport conference hub O’Toole’s law enforcement career has mood and purpose that he threw away his flexible frontiers. So New York still has a say there was a roundtable discussion at the spanned both a continent and an ocean. scripted speech and spoke from the heart. in deliberations. So has Belfast and Dublin. Massachusetts State House, hosted by In that ’09 year the chief honoree was She served as the first female commission - John Kelpie, CEO of City and State Representative Eugene O’Flaherty, er in Boston. She would later cross the Strabane District Council, also a multiple Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor and a business breakfast at the University of Timothy Murray and Mary Louise Mallick, Atlantic and take up the post of first Chief conference attendee, presented the Golden Massachusetts Lowell Inn and Conference Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate before Bridges Award for Service to Peace and First Deputy Comptroller of the State of New Center. York, led a premier list of conference speak - returning to the U.S. to lead the Seattle Reconciliation to Norman Houston, Visitors from Ireland’s Northwest that Police Department. Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau in ers and participants. year included Mayor of Donegal Noel Other participants included Gary Hanley, There would be no conference in 2013. the U.S. Massachusetts State McBride, and Sharon O’Connor, CEO of head of North American operations for The reason was a positive one, however. The Representative Mary Keefe was presented . Irish diplomacy was rep - Invest Northern Ireland, and Michael prime convener of Golden Bridges, Máirtín Ó with the Golden Bridges Award for Services resented by Consul General in Boston, Heaney, Director of Services with Donegal Muilleoir, was serving as Lord Mayor of to Irish American Politics. Maureen Coyle Michael Lonergan. Sinn Féin President Gerry County Council, and Conor Murphy who, at Belfast and duties there ruled out both his of the Maine Irish Heritage Center was the Adams was also a participant and took part the time, was Minister for Regional organizing work for the event, and flying the recipient of the Award for Services to the Development in the Northern Ireland power in an interview conducted by Kevin Cullen of Atlantic. Irish Diaspora, while the Dave Burke Award sharing government. . Other participants and The conference reconvened in 2014 at was presented to Bob Collins of AOH Local participants included honored guests included Ray Flynn, Mary the Seaport Hotel and worked to the theme Division 8. Massachusetts State Senator Therese Sugrue-McAleer, Executive Director of the of “New Alliances in a New Era.” The Irish And so to 2018. Golden Bridges will Murray, the first woman president of that Irish American Partnership. government was represented by Minister of reconvene at the Seaport Hotel and will body, and James Barnes, Community Art McCabe, Economic Development State Joe McHugh and other Atlantic mark a decade of association with the Development Director for the City of Manager for the City of Lawrence, was the crossers included Brenda Stevenson, Mayor venue on Thursday, November 15, and Lawrence, Tim Cahill, Treasurer and winner of the Dave Burke Award and Pat of Derry, and artist Robert Ballagh. The arts Friday November 16. Receiver General for the Commonwealth of Burke once again did the honors by pre - were also represented by Irish-born singer As it is every year, the purpose of the Massachusetts, and Sean P. Moynihan, and conference honoree Danny Hutton of conference is to p romote partnerships founder and Principal of the Moynihan Three Dog Night fame. between the Northeast and Group, a Boston-based legal and consultan - Mayor Marty Walsh attended, as did his Northwest by highlighting community, busi - cy firm. predecessor Ray Flynn. The Dave Burke ness, and education initiatives, this by The following year, 2010, would be a Award was presented to Billy Sullivan of bringing together leaders from both sides of standout for a very particular reason. The AOH Division 8 in Massachusetts. the Atlantic in a venue overlooking Boston venue was the Marriott Copley Place Hotel The 2015 conference opened on a high Harbor. and the main guest speaker was Mayor of note. In fact notes of all levels. It began with The 2018 honorees are Abbots Ireland; County Donegal, Cora Harvey. a cultural showcase featuring The Belfast Allstate; Bill McLaughlin, IACBN; Cathal Awards were presented to a number of Community Gospel Choir and Kaz Hawkins McGloin; Dave Barrett, Director, Irish individuals and organizations but this year and also featured dancers from the Heavey Cultural Center of New England, recipient of there would be a special award in memory Quinn Academy of Irish Dance. Mayor Marty the Dave Burke Award; Kevin Monaghan, of Dave Burke, a member of the Ancient Walsh returned, and the Irish government Irish Labor Leader; Margaret Lynch, Order of Hibernians and cornerstone figure was represented by Consul General Cleveland, Ohio; Tim Murray, Worcester in the Irish American community in Fionnuala Quinlan. Chamber of Commerce; Victoria Denoon; Massachusetts. Mayor of Donegal Ciaran Brogan partici - Vinny O’Malley, Executive Director, Maine Burke had passed not long before the pated, as did the and Irish Heritage Center. Golden Bridges gathering. He himself had Strabane, Elisha McCallion. Bridges are links. Golden Bridges links been honored in the 2007 event and had Boston Police commissioner Bill Evans Massachusetts, Boston, and the U.S. spoken the following year at the JFK Library and Sean Moynihan, President of the Irish Northeast to the new Ireland, the one where gathering. Network, held up the host town’s end and ancient ties between counties in the island’s Of Burke, Ed Forry of the Boston Irish the Dave Burke Award was presented to Dr. Northwest are spurring new joint business Reporter would write: “The late Lawrence John Lahey, President of Quinnipiac and economic ventures, regardless of lines Hibernian leader David R. Burke will be University in Connecticut. on the map. memorialized with the dedication of a 2016 was of course a standout year in Long may this continue! bronze plaque in his memory at the An Dave Burke. Irish historical terms. Minister Joe McHugh,