January 19th began with overcast and gray skies hovering above our heads in Virginia Beach. In a well-decorated Celtic condominium in Kempsville, there was a bustle of activity. Lynnette Fitch (TIAS Adult Princess 2000) and Danielle Donovan (2001) were packing their bags, anxiously awaiting the arrival of their third musketeer, Ursula Jordan (1997). The plan? A road trip north for the Annual Gala hosted by the Irish Center of Washington, D.C. "Are we bringing the boom box?" "Which CD’s do you want me to grab?" "OH, NO! I don’t have the right color glitter!" The door bell rings; Ursula has arrived. "Lynnette, how long are you planning on being there?!" Did I mention there are a great number of bags being packed? With the car fueled and a stop at the beauty supply store to get the correctly color-coordinated glitter completed, we were on our way. The slushy mess on the roads and speeding tractor trailers were no match for a car on a mission: D.C. or bust.
Dominic Preston, Executive Director of the Irish Center of Washington, D.C., had spent the last few weeks sending e-mails to the TIAS letting everyone know about the upcoming Annual Gala. He promised a night of good fun, free Guinness, and lots of Irish cheer. These three young ladies weren’t about to pass the chance up.
With deft driving skills, Lynnette got the trio safely and quickly to
Washington, D.C., rocking to the tunes of Black 47 and Seven Nations all the way there. Danielle, a D.C. native for a time, got them in and around the city, right to the hotel with only one wrong turn. Ursula, with her elite travel agent skills, handled the reservations for a room at the very posh Washington Court Hotel. The hotel was only steps away from Union Station and around the corner from the Phoenix Park Hotel, the Dubliner, and the Irish Times.
The room was gorgeous and full of luxurious amenities: a king-size bed (fit for a TIAS princess or two!) to share and a roll away like none other ever seen, two TV's (one in the bathroom!), a coffee maker and coffee for the morning, glassware that you’d love to have in your own home, and thick soft towels . . .as many as were needed, just for the asking. A quick re-arrangement of the lamps gave them the make up lighting they required to primp and gussy themselves up for the gala. Ursula simply wished for a third mirror, and poof - it just seemed to appear. Only two hours until the event; could they make it? Of course...they had the music of the 70’s to keep them going. However, just before heading to the ballroom for the gala, Danielle was prepared to throw the boom box out the window if she heard the Grease medley one more time!!!
Downstairs went the princesses, dressed in fancy semi-formal frocks, prepared to proudly represent the TIAS in the evening’s events, both festive and historic. They were warmly welcomed into the ballroom by the staff and friends of the Irish Center, who were expecting them. Vicky Curtin, President of the Irish Center, was busy making sure everything was perfect. In the foyer, they met and mingled with a host of soon-to-be new friends. Courteous Todd Curran and lovely Lauren Adamchek of the Annapolis Irish Rowing Club encouraged the girls to come to Annapolis for a visit, a regatta, a pub crawl . . .well, basically for any reason that they could come up with! And so they shall! You can visit their web site to learn more about the AIRC and their annual St. Brendan’s Cup Currach Regatta, hosted by the historic Charles Carroll House (home of the only Irish Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence). http://www.annapolisirishrowers.com
Seated at Table 5 with Lynnette, Danielle, and Ursula were Patrick
O’Brien, National President of the National Conference of Law Enforcement Emerald Societies, Brian Manion, President of the Washington D.C. area Police Emerald Society, another retired officer, their beautiful wives, and Sam Short, a dashing young D.C. fireman whom Ursula met while getting her wine. It was an honor and a pleasure to share a table with all of them. Brian and Patrick are interested in helping to get our local Emerald Society revved up.
The theme for this year’s Gala was to honor Washington D.C.’s local heroes from September 11th, 2001. The fire fighters, rescue workers, and police of the D.C. metropolitan area have not been as widely recognized as their brothers and sisters in New York City, but their experiences and valor during this national tragedy and crisis were the same. One of the young firefighters who lowered the flag down the side of the Pentagon on that heart-wrenching day lost his brother, of the NYPD, in the collapse of the twin towers. This particular family’s commitment to public service, duty, and sacrifice is a microcosm for the contributions to the same by the Irish expat and Irish-American community as a whole, who – to all of our pride and admiration - is disproportionately highly represented in such heroic yet typically underappreciated professions.
The Irish Center and the dignitaries on hand were more than ready to honor these men and women. Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States, Sean O’Huiginn, gave the keynote speech. The presentation of the Cuchullain Awards was preceded by a speech from Ivor Callely, a TD from Dublin. Not surprisingly, their words were eloquent, heart-felt, and perfect for the occasion. All poignantly expressed Ireland’s shared sense of grief with the United States and cognizance of the civilized world’s loss on that horrific Tuesday morning.
After the speeches, the awards, and the dinner, everyone was ready to lighten and liven things up and get out on the dance floor. The Southern Region Champion Irish Dancers, including two from the Donnelly School (directed by Larry and Nora Donnelly’s daughter), put on a flawless performance in their gorgeous competition costumes. Then the DJ took over, and it was time to boogie on down! Everyone had a grand time. At Dominic’s insistence, Lynnette called a "Siege of Ennis." It wasn’t the most synchronized or perfectly executed ceili dance ever, but it certainly was rowdy good fun!
Midnight came all too quickly, and most of the guests turned to pumpkins. For a few, however, the night was still young, and for these revelers the party relocated around the block to the Dubliner Irish Pub. Annapolis Irish rower Todd Curran was kind enough to squire two of our princesses to the late night festivities; can you guess which two?! Hint: they are roommates!!! Dominic and Ivor and their gracious wives were also among the fun crowd who closed the pub down that night. There was plentiful pursuit of the perfect pint, there were Irish tune sing-a-longs (Tom Porter, where were you?!), and there were major photo opportunities. An absolutely fantastic time was had by all, and the evening ended only at the insistence of the Dubliner employees, who had the unmitigated effrontery to close the place down at 2 a.m.!!! We were still having such a grand time that we were not ready to end the evening, but alas and alack, we had no choice. Not to worry, though – next year is sure to be just as much of a roaring success, and we hope more of our TIAS friends will elect to join us for the Gala in 2003!
Please consider joining the D.C. Irish Center. They sponsor many very worthy programs and events of interest to all of us in the Irish (both expat and Irish-American) subculture here in Virginia. We are thrilled that Dominic Preston plans to come speak to us personally at one of our monthly TIAS meetings this spring about the D.C. Irish Center.