AMBASSADOR'S OUTREACH |
Ambassador Foley hosts first Arts and Culture Dinner |
 | (L-R: Professor John Hegarty, Ambassador Thomas C. Foley, President Mary McAleese, Olive Braiden and Hugh Tinney.) (© US Embassy Dublin) |
Ambassador Thomas C. Foley hosted a dinner at his residence on Saturday, January 20 for forty guests in the first of a series of dinners celebrating the links between Irish and American Arts and Culture. Irish President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin attended with other distinguished guests and their spouses from academia, government, the media, business, and the arts including John Hegarty of Trinity College, media personalities Pat Kenny, Mary Kennedy, and Eddie Hobbs, author David McWilliams, Chief Justice John Murray, Arts Council Chair Olive Braidon, among others.
(L-R: Pat Kenny, Virginia Fortune and Mary Kennedy.) (© US Embassy Dublin)
Ambassador Foley opened the dinner with remarks explaining that he will be hosting a series of dinners to explore and celebrate Ireland’s extensive contribution to arts and culture in America.
 | (L-R: Anthony Kearns, Hugh Tinney and Niamh Murray.)(© US Embassy Dublin) |
Ambassador Foley plans at these dinners to feature American musicians, actors, writers, poets, painters, and photographers as well as Irish artists and performers who have worked or studied in the U.S. or who incorporate American styles or themes in their work.
 | (L-R: Suzanne McDougald and David McWilliams.) (© US Embassy Dublin) |
In remarks following dinner, the Ambassador used the example of American country and western music as having roots in Irish folk music brought to America by Irish immigrants. The Ambassador said he had attended the Willy Nelson concert at the Point Theatre on Friday night and wondered if the audience’s familiarity and interest in Willy Nelson’s music was partly due to Nelson’s soulful ballads, melodies, and instrumentation being heavily rooted in Irish folk music.
 | (L-R: Anthony Kearns, Cathy Maguire and Ambassador Thomas C. Foley.)
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There was a performance after dinner by Cathy Maguire, an Irish country and western singer from Dundalk. Ms. Maguire worked and studied on a J-1 visa in Nashville, Tennessee where she met and worked with some of the great names in the country and western world. Several of the songs performed by Ms. Maguire were written in collaboration with an American songwriter. Ms. Maguire’s performance was so well-received, others were inspired to perform, too, including Niamh Murray, Anthony Kearns, and Hugh Tinney.
