Mom Bridey with the Egan clan.
While accepting the award acknowledging his late father Pat’s induction into the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame on Sunday night, November 15, Fran Egan said he was surprised to hear his father described as “a quiet man.”
Pat Egan wasn’t quiet, but he hated being the center of attenion, said his son. “If he were alive today, he would be angry at all of us for doing this to him,” he said, his mother, Bridey, by his side. “He was not one for crowds and he would have found a way to deflect this honor. So this worked out well–he got his honor, he didn’t have to the center of attention, and Mr. Farrelly [master of ceremonies Tom Farrelly] got to sell a lot more tickets to the Egan family.”
There was a roar of laughter from one side of the ballroom of the Irish Center—many of Fran Egan’s 11 brothers and sisters were sitting there with their families.
It was a big night for big families. The children and grandchildren—and a few aunts and uncles—of inductees Sean McMenamin and his wife, Johanna, took about another fifth of the room. And if an Ancient Order of Hibernians division can be considered a family—they call themselves brothers and sisters–then honoree Joseph E. Montgomery’s blood and bond families took up at least another fifth. Nearly 20 members of Division 65—the Joseph E. Montgomery Division—were on hand to honor the man who served as president for 42 and who is the only living person to have an AOH named after him.
A special award went to Irish Deputy Consul General Breandon O’Caollai, accompanied by his wife, Carmel, and daughter, Siobhan.
We were there and took lots of photos.
