Michael Glass presents INA award to Charlie Schlegel.
For Kathy McGee Burns, the importance of her Irish heritage hit home on May 5, 1981, when hunger striker and Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer Bobby Sands died in the H-Block prison hospital at Long Kesh.
“That really made me sit up and take notice,” said Kathy, one of three honorees at the 2008 Irish Northern Aid Testimonial Dinner January 26 at the Irish Center. “That made me ask, ‘What would I starve myself for?’”
Sands’ heroism and sacrifice reinforced Kathy’s sense of Irishness as nothing before ever had. “That started me on a new ‘you’,” she explained in her acceptance speech. She began to devote herself increasingly to Irish causes and to exploring her connections to Ireland in general, and Donegal in particular.
Kathy’s story is just one of many that might have been told by all of the attendees, and not just the honorees. No one who subscribes to the beliefs and values of Irish Northern Aid can be said to be merely passively Irish.
Two other strongly dedicated Irish Americans also received INA honors: Charlie Schlegel, of the INA and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and Bob Grover of Clan na Gael.
Lastly, Frances Duffy, a longtime and dedicated volunteer, received the INA’s Joe Cahill Award.
Check out the photos
