Spring 2011 Next Event

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 House of Chan Social 5:30pm - Dinner 6:30pm Prelude music by Britta & Roy Portenga Program Professor Kurt Bullock Grand Valley State University

It is time for our annual educational dinner and program at the House of Chan, and we have an outstanding program again this year. And a big “thank you” to our members Britta and Roy Portenga as they continue their tradition of performing their instrumental music for us at this event! Dr. Kurt Bullock, PhD, is a Professor of English Language and Literature at Grand Valley State University. Dr. Bullock received his Bachelor’s Degree from Taylor University, and his Master’s and Doctorate from Ball State University. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at GVSU, he is a leader in the American Conference for Irish Studies, our country’s largest or- ganization of scholars devoted to the study of Irish history and culture. Dr. Bullock is an expert in Irish literature, and has written and spoken about such Irish writ- ers as William Butler Yeats and Nobel Prize recipient Seamus Heaney. In recent years he has taken special interest in the lives and works of the poets who were the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, all of whom lost their lives in that rebellion. He has spent a lot of time in Ireland doing research in that field. In some cases he has been able to visit and interview their descendants, and has been granted access to their private papers. When he speaks to us at our event, he will have just returned from his latest research in Ireland, and we will be the first to hear about his most current news. We do not often get the chance to deepen our appreciation of our Irish heritage, especially with an opportunity like this right in our own back yard. Don’t miss this great evening! Reservations not necessary, but before Monday, May 10, please call Kathleen Marek at 759-7344 or Bob and Terri Wright at 777-2122 so that we can give Chan’s an approximate count. You can also email Bob and Terri at [email protected]. Thank you! Last Events On March 11 – 12 our Michigan Irish Music Festival sponsored our community’s annual St. Pat’s Party at the Fricano’s Event Center. The headline entertainment was the band named “The Kreellers” from . Other entertainment included Scott Sheldon and Irish dancers. McGovern Catering’s Irish menu and Fricano’s pizza met the crowd’s culinary needs, accompanied by a variety of fit and proper libations. The extensive silent auction was very lively and successful, with no fisticuffs noted. Several of our mem- bers volunteered to help make these two nights so much fun and financially successful for the festival. Kudos to the Festival Board and all who worked so hard! On St. Patrick’s Day itself our club joined the packed house at Hennessy’s Irish Pub to conduct our 38th consecu- tive annual Irish flag raising in downtown Muskegon. Mike and Nancy Hennessy erected a special flag pole for us out- The Kreellers side their pub, and our President Kevin Donovan did the honors of hoisting the tricolor flag of Ireland. Neil Mullally then read a biography of St. Patrick to remind us of the meaning of the day, and concluded with a short, but moving, Irish blessing. For those who were not present, here is that ancient blessing: May the wind at your back not be the result of the corned beef and cab- bage you ate at lunch! We closed the ceremony with a chorus of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.” We then processed into Hennessy’s in what we are claiming is now the world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade! Many thanks to Hennessy’s and our K Donovan M Hennessy N Mullally members who are keeping this tradition alive – almost 40 years! Future Event We are tentatively scheduling our summer barbecue dinner on the evening of Thursday, Au- gust 25, at the Mona Lake Boating Club. Please mark your calendar! Welcome to New Members Since our last newsletter, these new members have joined our club: Bruce and Judi Kelly, and Sandy Storck. Ceadmile failte! One hundred thousand welcomes! Dues Notice We still have a few stragglers who have not yet paid this year’s dues. If you receive a dues notice included with this newsletter, that means your 2011 dues have not yet been paid. Our modest dues of $15.00 per family are important for our club to function, so please pay your dues promptly if you receive a dues statement. Thank you! Newsletter Option by Email Some of our members are now receiving our newsletter by email. If you would prefer to have your newsletter delivered by email, please send an email to Bob Wright at [email protected]. And remember that our past newsletters and current event information are available at our club’s website: www.muskegonirishamerican.com. Notre Dame vs. Navy in Ireland September 1, 2012 In 1996 Notre Dame and Navy played their fall football game in Dublin, and they are going to play there again on 9/1/2012. It is extremely hard to get tickets to this game unless you go through a tour, and already tours are being organized and are selling out. If you have any interest in going to this very special game at Ireland’s striking Aviva Stadium, it is not too early to make arrangements, and many tour operators will allow you to pay for the trip over the next year. Mary Ann Reagan of Fenian’s Irish Pub in Conklin is organizing an attractive tour, and if you are inter- ested, you can call her at 616-837-8683 or email her at [email protected]. You can find several other tours via a google search. Fr. William Corby, C.S.C. Our country is now commemorating the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, and the mention of the Notre Dame vs. Navy game brings to mind an heroic Notre Dame priest and Civil War military chaplain, Fr. William Corby, C.S.C., a native of Michigan. On July 2nd, 1863, the was entering it’s pivotal second day. The Confederates were pushing on both flanks of the Union Line. An unauthorized advance exposed a salient in the Union Line which the Confederates were quick to seize upon. One of the areas of fiercest fighting has come down in history as the Wheat Field. Union Commander had ordered the area to be reinforced, and among those units that where to enter this maelstrom was the Irish Brigade. The Irish Brigade was a brigade in name only. Originally composed of 5 regiments and 3000 men, the brigade’s hero- ism at the battles of Fair Oaks, Seven Days, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville had reduced its total numbers now to less than a single regiment of 600 men. Once again the Brigade was going to where the fighting was thickest. As they prepared to move off, their Chaplin Fr. William Corby, C..S.C., hastily mounted a boulder wearing his purple stole and said he would offer the men absolution. As the men of the brigade knelt and lowered their flags when Fr. Corby pronounced the blessing, the entire surrounding second corps, irrespective of their own faith, fell silent as they watched this scene. Even General Hancock, commanding the II Corps, removed his hat and bowed his head. As Fr. Corby’s last words faded away, the veterans of the Irish Brigade moved off to battle. 198 of their depleted number never returned. Witnesses described it as one of the most moving moments of the war. William Corby was born in Detroit on October 2, 1833, to Daniel Corby, a native of what would become County Offaly, Ireland. Daniel Corby had made a fortune in real estate and helped to found many Detroit parishes and aided in the build- ing of many churches. The Michigan Catholic reported that there was no worthy charity which he did not support. William Corby after high school worked in his father’s business for four years. However, William had a calling for the priesthood, so his father sent him to a small college run by French Fathers of the Holy Cross that had a reputation for strict discipline: Notre Dame. Corby took his vows as a Holy Cross Father and became the Prefect of Discipline at Notre Dame. When the Civil War broke out the Holy Cross Fathers sent one third of their number to become chaplains with Union Regiments. Father Corby was assigned as Chaplin to the 88th NY of the Irish Brigade where he served for three years. Many other Chap- lains succumbed to the rigors of military life. For a time Corby was the only Chaplin in the Army of the Potomac. While best known for his acts at Gettysburg, Corby often ministered to his men’s needs under fire. At Antietam he rode across the line of the 69th as it advanced under fire, again offering absolution and then ministering to the dead and wounded. He was known affectionately as “a fighting Chaplin”. Though never granted, the veterans of the Irish Brigade petitioned congress to award Fr. Corby the Medal of Honor for his courage and devotion to his men under fire. After the war, Fr. Corby returned to Notre Dame where he served two terms as President. He used the business acu- men he gained from his father to help rebuild Notre Dame after it was nearly destroyed by fire and is considered its “Second Founder”. Fr. Corby helped restore several other financially troubled parishes. Motivated by a desire to remind Americans of the patriotic service that thousands of Catholics had rendered to their country in the Civil War, Father Corby wrote Memoirs of Chaplain Life, describing his Irish Brigade experiences. When Fr. Corby died in 1897, his pallbearers were not members of the Holy Cross Community as was customary, but aging Civil War veterans, his coffin draped with the flag of his old regiment . Fr. Corby’s absolution at Gettysburg is commemorated with a statue at Gettysburg at the spot where it occurred, and an identical copy of the statue stands in front of Corby Hall at Notre Dame.

Fr. Corby depicted at Gettysburg Statue at Gettysburg Fr. Corby later in life Painting by Brad Schmehl At St. Pat’s Party March 11-12, 2011

38th Annual Flag Raising - March 17, 2011

St. Pat’s Day Celebrated Elsewhere

Chicago

Dublin Paris The White House