Southern California Rose of Tralee

Irish Heritage Day 2010 began with the addition of two new Roses to the Rose Program, as well as breakfast breads, hot coffee and refreshing juices for the Roses to begin a long yet informative day.

The first segment of the day was a group discussion led by moderator Kate McCathy.  The discussion began with each Rose sharing their family’s immigration history and from there the discussion grew to include other aspects such as modern immigration into Ireland, cultural expectations, and first thoughts upon visiting Ireland.  The Roses were lively throughout the discussion sharing their thoughts and opinions with each other and finding a good variety of differences and similarities amongst themselves.

A lunch of Irish stew and soda bread was next for the Roses.  Kathy Llera explained the ingredients of the Irish stew and shared her recipe, as well as a few tips to achieve the delicious savoryness of the stew.

The Roses enjoyed a few minutes of conversation with each other before returning to the main room for the next segment of the day – Irish Arts led by Sandy Howard.  The Roses were given a brief overview of modern and historical aspects of several Irish Arts including cinema, theatre and literature.

Irish Music with Uilleann piper player Joey Abarta was the third segment of the day.  Also joining the segment was fiddle player Sasha and together with Joey, they entertained the Roses with a few pieces of Irish music.  Joey spent a good portion of the segment explaining the difference between the uilleann pipes and bagpipes, as well as the techniques of playing the pipes.

An afternoon break of snacks and beverages for the Roses gave the Heritage Day committee the necessary time to clear the main room to prepare for the next segment – Irish Dance. 

Once again long-time supporter of the Rose program Joan Kelly was on hand to teach the Roses a few easy steps to a couple of Irish dances.  After the step-by-step breakdown of the dances, the Roses bravely tried the steps on their own and found that for a group of beginners, they were pretty good.  Of course, with all the turning and spinning, the smiles and laughs were on overload.

Wrapping up the day was Irish Sports led by Kevin MacDonnell – another long-time supporter of the Rose Program.  The segment began with the Roses crowding around to watch a short video on ladies Gaelic Football that Kevin had brought along to share.  Then it was outside to the yard so that the segment could continue and the Roses could have a hands-on experience with the hurling equipment and Gaelic football.  The Roses gave it try here and there and found success with most of their attempts.  One thing was a definite success was the amount of fun they had in trying and supporting their fellow Roses.

Heritage Day 2010 then officially ended with closing remarks from the committee on hand and a hearty thank you for their participation in the day’s events.

Kate McCarthy moderated the discussion on Irish History & immigration

The Roses listen as Rose Caitlin shares about her family's history

Sandy Howard discussed the Irish Arts - cinema, theatre, and literature

Uilleann pipe player Joey Abarta and fellow musician and fiddle player Sasha played for the Roses 
The Roses enjoyed the segment on Irish Music

Joan Kelly taught the Roses a few Irish dances

The Roses made several attempts at the steps 

The Roses had a fantastic time learning Irish dance

Irish Sports started with a short video on Gaelic Football

Then it was outside to learn about hurling

Kevin MacDonnell explains Gaelic Football to Rose Sarah