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Just across the East River
from Manhattan, in Long Island City, is the New York Irish Center (“the
Center”), a remarkable story in the history of Irish immigration to New
York.
Eight years ago, members of the city's Irish community, immigrants
themselves and business leaders in the construction and restaurant
trades, banded together to secure a property that could serve as a
Center for all things Irish in the region, under the guidance of the
community's spiritual leader, Belfast-born Fr. Colm Campbell. Within a
couple of years the building was fully renovated and providing a home
and valuable services to Irish immigrants.
Among them were the elderly. These seniors brought to light the shameful
fact that older generations of Irish immigrants had largely been
forgotten, with their contributions to the community under-appreciated,
and in increasing danger of falling into isolation as they aged.
Fr. Colm made sure that this would no longer be the case, and he started
the Senior Lunch Club, a day each week when Irish seniors can come
together, enjoy a good meal, a cup of tea and a biscuit, and most
importantly, sit and chat and stay in touch with each other. And, in a
great example of a community giving back, Fr. Colm was able to enlist
restaurants to supply the lunches on a rotating basis.
And now the Center wants to extend the opportunity to become part of
this remarkable story. If you are a New York restaurant owner, we invite
you to join with the many fine establishments already participating.
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New York Irish Center
1040 Jackson Ave, LIC (Queens), NY 11101
718-482-0909
NYIRISH.ORG |
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