Mayo Society of Greater Cleveland Annual Meeting and Tea June 4, 2023 Dolan Atrium - John Carroll University
The Mayo Society of Greater Cleveland was founded in 2004 as a not-for-profit corporation to provide a forum for information and activities of interest to individuals of Irish descent particularly those with ancestral ties to County Mayo.
Their mission is to "promote cultural, charitable, scientific and/or literary exchanges between the People of the United States and the People of Ireland, with particular emphasis on County Mayo, including but not limited to research into the life and times of Irish immigration to America and the study of Irish and Irish-American history."
President Gerry Quinn welcomed the crowd and conducted meeting business.
Gerry Quinn
Gerry announced that there would not be a Mayo Ball in 2023 because of the celebrations of the twinning of sister cities Cleveland Ohio and Achill Island, County Mayo Ireland. Mayo Society Secretary Colleen Corrigan Day spoke about the Twinning events.
Colleen Corrigan Day
He listed some of the scholarships that the Mayo Society provides for John Carroll students to study in Galway and Galway students to study in Cleveland at John Carroll. He also listed some of the non-profits they have helped - over $350,000 worth of donations since inception. Watch the video of Gerry Quinn's remarks.
Next, Gerry introduced Mark Owens who is Ohio's first Irish Honorary Consul General.
Mark Owens
As you can watch in the video below, Mark spoke of the relationship between Northeast Ohio and Ireland involving culture, business, sports and more. He noted that 15% of Ohioans claim Irish ancestry, second only to Germans at 20%. He told of his recent trip to Ireland with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, County Executive Chris Ronayne and others.
Next, President Gerry Quinn introduced Bryan Beigie the Director of Exercise Sector at John Carroll University.
Bryan Beigie
Bryan told of how sports relationships can be built between Cleveland and Ireland and stressed how importance sports are for the 2 areas. He said we can learn from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organization.
Talking about the GAA
After some introductions and the business part of the meeting the Murphy Irish Dancers performed.
Murphy Irish Dancers at Mayo Society Tea
They were accompanied by Samantha McNamara on violin and Nikki Custy on guitar who also played as their duo Custy and McNamara.
Enjoy these other images from the 2023 Mayo Society Tea.
Mark Owens, Joan Reali, Colleen Reali, Margaret Lynch, Colleen Day and Gerry Quinn
Pat Fitzpatrick, Sheila Murphy, Nellie Quinn, Ed Fitzpatrick
Megan Quinn and Kevin Quinn
Joan Reali and Margaret Lynch
Peggy Kelly and Patsy Lowry
Russel Davis, JC Sullivan and Mary Jo Connor
Gerry Quinn, Colleen Corrigan Day and Mark Owens
Mrs and Mr. Al O'Leary
Bridget Conway and Margaret Gaughan
Barb and Mike Wagner
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