People

Ambassador’s Award Honoree Teleflex: Making a Serious Impact on Patient Lives

Liam J. Kelly

On March 1, the Irish American Business Chamber & Network will be hosting the 2019 Ambassador’s Awards Luncheon at Philadelphia’s Union League. Among the honorees is Teleflex, a global provider of medical technology products. recipient of the Ambassador Award. Accepting on behalf of Teleflex will be Liam J. Kelly, Teleflex president and CEO.

We recently spoke with Liam Kelly. Here’s what he had to say.

Irish Philly: Teleflex is a global provider of medical technology products and I’m wondering if you could give me some examples.

Liam Kelly: Teleflex has a number of divisions. We have a vascular division. There, our main product is a central venous catheter and a PICC catheter. And also a product called an EZ-IO. They all basically give vascular access to patient. If a patient has a heart attack, the one thing that they need is vascular access. We need to get fluid into the body and we provide a whole series of catheters that allow that to happen.

We also have an interventional access division. Our main products there focus on coronary disease states within the hospital. And that business is a business that has continued to save lives every day and we’re very proud of that fact.

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February 28, 2019 by
News, People

A Leader in Construction and an Environmental Lawyer: Reflections on Life and Giving

Sarah and Dan Keating

On March 1, the Irish American Business Chamber & Network will be hosting the 2019 Ambassador’s Awards Luncheon at Philadelphia’s Union League. Among the honorees are Daniel J. Keating, III, executive vice president, Gilbane Building Co., and Sarah P. Keating, Esq., principal owner and chief executive officer of Keating Environmental Management. They will receive the Taoiseach Award.

We recently spoke with Daniel Keating. Here’s what he had to say.

Irish Philly: Did you and Sarah have any idea you were in the running?

Daniel Keating, III: Actually, we did not have any idea we were in the running, but we’re certainly honored.

Irish Philly: I imagine you’re pretty pleased about that.

DK: Well, you know, it’s a wonderful group of guys and gals, and they all get along and a nice company to be involved with.

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February 26, 2019 by
News

Continuing a Fatally Wounded Marine’s Proud Tradition: The Travis Manion Foundation

Ryan Manion

On March 1, the Irish American Business Chamber and Network will be hosting the 2019 Ambassador’s Awards Luncheon at Philadelphia’s Union League. Among the honorees is the Travis Manion Foundation, recipient of the Uachtarán Award.

Accepting on behalf of the Travis Manion Foundation will be Col. Tom Manion, USMC, Ret., chairman emeritus, and Ryan Manion, president.

The Travis Manion Foundation is a character-driven leadership organization named after Marine 1st Lt. Travis Manion, fatally wounded while searching a suspected insurgent house in the Al Anbar province of Iraq.

We spoke with Ryan Manion. Here’s what she had to say.

Irish Philly: What does the award from the business chamber mean to you and your foundation? I mean, the foundation’s had some accolades. It’s time.

Ryan Manion: I think this is a really a cool offer or award to receive because most of the recognition that we get is not the military network, but through the military community. So we have a lot of great recognition through different branches of the military and different organizations that support military foundations.

To receive an award for that is a great recognition—to be appreciated for the work that we’re doing just kind of outside of this space. On a personal level, I know my dad and I were both kind of thrilled being from an Irish background and the heritage there. And so, you know, it just kind of brings everything full circle for us. So it’s a really cool honor and we’re super excited for it.

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February 26, 2019 by
News

Podcast: Interview with Irish Ambassador Daniel Mulhall

On March 1, Irish Ambassador to the United States Daniel Mulhall will be on hand to present the Irish American Business Chamber & Network‘s 2019 Ambassador’s Awards.

Recently, we interviewed him about the awards, the Business Chamber and the broader significance to Irish-American commerce. We also chatted about a wider range of issues—from the involvement of Irish-Americans in Irish government interests, such as United States immigration policies, to Brexit and the Northern Irish peace process.

Here’s what he had to say.

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February 25, 2019 by
Sports

In Glenside, Raising the Next Generation of Gaelic Athletes

On a recent Saturday night, the voices of more than 60 kids, many of them 10 or younger, echoed off the roof of a huge inflatable dome on the campus of Arcadia University in Glenside. Often with more enthusiasm than skill, they grabbed, tossed and kicked a white ball into mesh goals and through uprights up and down adjoining courts, with adult coaches shouting instructions and doling out liberal doses of encouragement.

At times, it seemed like chaos, but if you looked closely and paid attention, you could see that there was an organization underlying it all.

This was Gaelic football for kids, a primer on how to one day play the game in all seriousness. Serious, because they represent the future of Gaelic athletics in the Philadelphia area—and to a larger extent, the United States.

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February 23, 2019 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Think of this week as a warm-up for March, which promises to be jam-packed. March 17—the big day itself—merits a “How to Be Irish in Philly” all by its own at this point, and the events keep pouring in.

It seems right to start with an event that can get you into the proper spirit for the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It’s a parade fund-raiser Sunday at Heroes Hall FOP Lodge 5, 11630 Caroline Road in Northeast Philadelphia. The event starts at 3 p.m.

You’ll get a chance to meet this year’s grand marshal, Sean McMenamin, as well as the Ring of Honor.

If you’re going—and by all means, go—the fund-raiser promises to be one super-fun afternoon. It costs $40 at the door, and $20 for children 13 and under. (Checks to be made out to SPDOA.) For your money, you get music from local Irish bands and the Philadelphia Emerald Society Pipe Band, and some high-stepping from the Cummins School of Irish Dance. There will be baskets of cheer, too, and plenty of food and draft beer. You get a lot for your money, and you can help support one of the best causes we can think of.

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February 22, 2019 by
People

Sister Judy Oliver: Embracing the Mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph

When Sister Judy Oliver, SSJ, was a student at St. Hubert’s High School, she was taught by sisters from several religious orders, but for many reasons, the Sisters of St. Joseph appealed to her.

“I graduated high school in 1965 and worked for a year as a teacher. In 1966, when I entered (the order), I had already made contact with the sisters, and my great aunt was a Sister of St. Joseph,” she recalls. “In Catholic high schools in those days, you had all different kinds of sisters and a small population of lay teachers, so you had Sisters of St. Joseph who lived in one convent, there were 10 Sisters of Mercy, and they lived up the road, and so on.

“But there was something that was attractive about the charism and mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph that I think, for me, was a grace. I don’t know if, when you’re 18, you know that you’re being led by grace, but it really was a grace of invitation for the Sisters of St. Joseph, and as I’ve lived the vocation, I have found more and more that our charism and mission really do fit who I am and who I’ve become.”

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February 18, 2019 by
Music

Come Celebrate a Family-Friendly Sober St. Patrick’s Day!

Sober St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated Sunday, March 10, from 4 to 7 p.m., at The High Point Bank Barn at St. Peter’s Church, 2475 St. Peter’s Road in Malvern.

Sponsoring the event is the local Irish music and cultural organization Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann-Philadelphia/Delaware Valley—CCÉ, for short.

“We have a super line-up this year, with Shannon Lambert-Ryan and Fionán de Barra joining us for the first time,” said Katherine Ball-Weir, CCÉ-Philadelphia Delaware Valley chairman. “They are such great musicians and performers, and real favorites of mine. I’m thrilled that they could make space in their schedule to be with us. They will be touring with their band Runa around that time, but Shannon and Fionán are based here in Philadelphia and the two of them will be back for a couple of days, so we grabbed them up. They will join some of our favorite musicians from Philadelphia and Baltimore.”

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February 17, 2019 by