CLEVELAND. After two previous successful Annual Dinner & Ball, what else could attendees expect different than the two previous? Well, leave it to the Irish to spark imaginations and throw a party to surpass their previous ones.

Ballina native Jerry Quinn hosted events and, despite fighting a cold, graciously moved things along. “Our native county has a long and cherished history,” he said. “It has sacrificed its sons and daughters in the quest for Irish freedom. It suffered through An Gorta Mor, the Great Famine of the 1840s, and witnessed the immigration of thousands of its people.” As readers well know, many settled on the banks of the Cuyahoga (meaning crooked in Indian). “It is from those humble beginnings that many of our ancestors started their lives in the New World.” A

Quinn vividly recalled seeing the State of Liberty when he emigrated as 19 year old young man. “I regretted leaving Mayo but was grateful for the opportunity given me in the land of the free and the brave.”

The main guest of the evening was the grandson of Eamon De Valera, Eamon O’Cuiv, a Dail Deputy since 1992, serving as a Senator from 1989 until 1992. O’Cuiv is one of Eamon De Valera’s 18 grandchildren, yet the only grandson sharing a love for the political life. His grandfather visited Cleveland in 1919 as part of a national effort to raise funds for the Independence of the Republic. 5 million dollars were raised. “There is a strong emotional tie that transcends distance, Our mutual resource is our people” he said.

We were fortunate to share our table with Mayo native Sister Bernadette McNamara. Her school, Holy Family, in Natchez, Mississippi is one of this year’s charity recipients. She plans to hire additional staff and purchase books. She first traveled to Mississippi as a 16 year old novice. “Back then they called us white negroes (although they didn’t say negroes),” she said.

Another recipient of this year’s charity is the Cleveland Irish Cultural Gardens located on Martin Luther King Blvd. Accepting a check on behalf of the Gardens were sisters, Sheila Murphy Crawford and Joan Murphy Cavanaugh. Both have been active in the Greater Cleveland Irish community, especially the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians. (Dedication photo courtesy of Cleveland Sate University - click on photo to enlarge)

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens, extending along East Blvd. & Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Cleveland's University Circle area, is a unique collection of landscaped, themed gardens each representing a different ethnic group/organization in Cleveland. The gardens, 23 in number, represent many of the cultural backgrounds of Cleveland's diverse population.

This year a sizeable and friendly delegation from County Mayo graced the event. Thoroughly enjoying themselves were Terence Dever and Roisin Lavelle, Achill Development Co.; Michael Lavelle, Achill Tours; Pat Kilbane, Achill Twinning Committee; Kenneth Deery, Achill Tourism (www.visitachill.com); Deirdre Curran- Udaras No Gaeltachta and from the Mayo Council were Seamus Weir, Chairman, Charlestown, Ed Stanton, Ballina and Frank Chambers, Newport.

Also in attendance was Ireland’s new Consul General, Sean Farrell. Most recently he has been at Headquarters in Dublin, where he has been for the last two years as the Director of the Irish Abroad Unit. In that role he coordinated official Irish programs and provided assistance for the Irish communities living outside Ireland. Farrell is married with three children and three grandchildren, all of whom are US citizens. Farrell said there is pride in “kith and kin”, and he admires Mayo people. “No country has lost a greater percentage of her population as Ireland. “Where there is now great prosperity, there are great challenges. Emigration is over. Who would’ve imagined Ireland attracting people from central and eastern Europe?”

Once again the Mayo Society Ball has proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable evening where one experiences the wit, humor and hospitality of the Irish community. We are all fortunate to be living who we are – Irish. We are proud to be Irish and American.

Images from the evening will be found here. 

Sullivan, an Irish-American writer, has numerous publishing credits, including the Irish Echo, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine and Irish America Magazine.