| 'Wild Geese' Flock Toward New Horizons
By Adele Annesi
The Irish writer laureate William Butler Yeats once lamented the death
of romantic Ireland, but it’s hardly so, nor will it be, if the Wild Geese
cultural-preservation society of Stamford, Conn., has anything to do with
it. Named for the lads who departed Ireland to serve in armies abroad,
and in a sense for all who left Erin, Wild Geese is looking to broaden
its scope and preserve a legacy for lovers of things Irish.
The first "wild geese" took flight after the Battle of the Boyne in
the late 1600s, and since then many Irish sons and daughters have left
their native shores, often of necessity. "Their going was based [on the
concept of] people who would rather leave their home than be dominated
by a foreign culture," said Carl Shanahan, a Stamford-area executive who
immigrated to the United States in 1958 and co-founded Wild Geese.
One effect of such a Diaspora is the apparent loss of cultural identity.
Wild Geese, whose members hail from Fairfield county to County Cork, is
looking to continue expanding efforts to make sure that doesn’t happen.
"We’re now in New York, New Jersey, Vermont and Florida," said Jim Dougherty,
an estate attorney and a Wild Geese board member. "We’re international,
too, with members in Ireland," he added. Among the society’s most notable
global affiliates is Mary McAleese, the president of Ireland and official
patron of the Wild Geese.
Since its inception nearly 25 years ago, Wild Geese has garnered such
support to help safeguard the Irish legacy by providing a sense of community,
cultural programs, and occasions for personal and professional growth.
They sponsor membership meetings, discussions, sporting events, and a yearly
gala. The aim now is to expand these opportunities to include a yearly
lecture series, a wider variety of activities and even a national museum.
Wild Geese wants to extend its traditionally warm welcome not only to
those of direct Irish descent but also to Irish Americans and to any with
an affinity for a land and people as rich in culture and tradition as Ireland’s
emerald shores. "We’re nondenominational, nonsectarian and independent.
People don’t even have to be Irish," Shanahan said.
Such openness has been a hallmark of Wild Geese since the early days,
when the group met in members’ homes for informal discussions on Irish
heritage and tradition. But even then there was an emphasis on the best
that Irish culture has to offer. One notable presenter was the gifted Irish
poet and essayist Seamus Deane, who compiled Field Day Anthology of
Irish Literature, considered to be the most comprehensive collection
of Irish writings from ancient times to modern day.
In an effort to familiarize the community with Deane and Irish works,
Wild Geese donated editions of the three-volume anthology to local libraries
and museums. "I really enjoyed that time," said Shauna Flaherty, a documentary
film producer and member of the society’s board of directors.
Wild Geese wants to retain its generosity even as the group migrates
toward new venues, such as a topical annual lecture series, the first formal
installment of which was "Organized Crime and Politics: Irish American
Style," held in September at the Round Hill Community House in Greenwich.
The lecture was presented by T. J. English, who wrote Paddy Whacked:
The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster, heralded by the Village
Voice as a "captivating history" of the subject, and fellow speaker
Tom Kelly, a construction worker turned author who wrote Empire Rising,
a novel of historical fiction about the Empire State Building that the
New
York Times called a "work of compelling muscularity."
But Wild Geese isn’t limiting its offerings to history. Another opportunity
to learn about the contribution of Irish culture is a presentation in Stamford
in October by Daniel Murphy, of the Ulster Gaelic Athletic Association,
on the resurgence of games such as hurling and Irish football. "We’re looking
for a revival of traditional Irish-American sports," Jim Dougherty said.
"For a time, Irish sports were outlawed," he added.
Another Irish tradition, the dance, has also met with its fair share
of opposition, although it saw a revival in Michael Flatley’s Lord of
the Dance series, which in the 1990s brought Celtic music and dance
into the spotlight worldwide. Originally a construction worker from Chicago's
South Side, Flatley typifies the combined Irish American experience, especially
when it comes to preserving one of Ireland’s most colorful legacies.
This fall Wild Geese is sponsoring an event that combines both dance
and tradition in its annual Celtic New Year Ball, which was held on Oct.
29 at the Marriott Hotel in Stamford. The ball is a celebration of the
Celtic New Year, which starts on Halloween night. "It’s to celebrate the
harvest and new beginnings," Shauna Flaherty said.
Wild Geese also celebrates new beginnings in promising fledgling artists.
"We run programs in area libraries and sponsor events for people to write
a new play or piece of music," Flaherty said. The society has also offered
scholarships to qualified individuals, including a protégé
of the internationally renowned Irish pianist John O’Connor.
Among the future plans of Wild Geese is to bring to the area a Brooklyn,
N.Y., native whose humble beginnings became even humbler before his writing
took flight. Pulitzer Prize-winning memoirist and master storyteller Frank
McCourt of Angela’s Ashes fame was honored in 2002 by the Wild Geese
and has a book due out in early 2006. "His book is on the process of morphing
from an Irishman into an Irish American," Shanahan said.
The theme is one that resonates with the group, as Dougherty explained.
"My family came in 1851, and I just naturally like Irish things," he said.
He also finds a sense of his roots when he visits Ireland. "When I go over,
I feel like I’m going home."
Wild Geese considers the sense of home and hearth in the blended Irish-American
experience central to preserving Celtic traditions and culture. "When you’re
coming from another country, you want to cut the cord as quickly as possible,"
Shanahan added. He also noted that although first-year Irish immigrants
were mainly looking to settle in, especially since they were not initially
welcomed, future generations become interested in their heritage.
"The first generation doesn’t want to have anything to do with the past,
but the second and third generations take an interest," he said.
It is to these generations that Wild Geese is reaching out in its new
expansion phase, as observed by longtime member Joan Murphy. Her husband,
John Cullen Murphy, was among the founders of the group. "There was a time
when it wasn’t advantageous to be Irish, and Wild Geese started based on
the idea that a lot of people who were of Irish descent really didn’t know
much about their roots," Mrs. Murphy said. "There was a need for that,"
she added. She also noted the society’s evolution over the years. "As with
many organizations, Wild Geese became very successful and for a while plateaued,
but there is a renewed energy now and a focus [on the future]."
The future may hold even more auspicious opportunities to preserve Irish
and Irish American culture in the form of a museum project, for which land
on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., has been allocated by the U.S.
Congress. The Wild Geese are hoping to help spearhead the campaign to raise
awareness and funds for the museum. "It’s important for Irish Americans
or any Americans to know who they are, what they came from and what they’ve
done. That group identity is important," according to Shanahan.
It may be the ideal time to embark on such a venture, as 2006 will mark
the 25-year anniversary of Wild Geese, whose official membership is 500
and counting. It may also be the right time for the learned to expand their
knowledge and for the uninitiated to be introduced to the profundity of
Irish culture. "The experience is something important, like a deep well
in your soul," Ms. Flaherty said.
For more information on Wild Geese, visit the website at www.thewildgeese.org.
 
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