Phoenix Observes St. Patrick's Day With New Irish Culture Center
Feb. 28, 2002
Want to learn more about Irish culture just in time for St. Patrick's Day? Soon you can visit the Emerald Isle right in the heart of Phoenix at the new Irish Culture and Learning Center at Margaret T. Hance Park, 67 W. Culver St. (off Central Avenue south of McDowell Road). The Phoenix Sister Cities Commission will help dedicate the new center in a special St. Patrick's Day ceremony at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 17.
The center is a partnership among the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department, Phoenix Sister Cities Commission and the Phoenix Irish-American community. A visiting delegation from sister city Ennis, Ireland, will be on hand for the festivities as well. The Ennis group includes Mayor Michael Corley, Fire Chief Michael Raftery, six City Councilors and business leaders from that city.
The heart of the Irish Culture and Learning Center is a replica of a 19th century farmhouse and outbuildings designed with input from Irish historians and architects. The cottage and stable structures feature an open courtyard, a map of Ireland crafted of brick, a Hunger Memorial commemorating the Irish potato famine of 1845-1851, and a special entry gate dedicated to the late Howard Adams, a former Phoenix City Councilman who was instrumental in forming the Ennis sister city relationship.
"The people of Ennis have been keenly watching the development of the Irish Culture and Learning Center," said Tom Mannion, chair of the Ennis Sister City Committee. "It is with much anticipation that we and they look forward to its dedication this March."
Not only does the facility foster the study and celebration of Ireland's rich cultural history, it also offers a high-tech gateway to Ireland in the present. The center serves as an interactive learning experience linking students in Arizona and Ireland, an international business center and a resource facility that will accommodate indoor and outdoor meetings. The center has been wired for the latest in high-tech communications equipment and computers, allowing visitors to connect with their counterparts in Ennis, which has become known as Ireland's official "Information Age Town."
Phoenix and Ennis became sister cities in 1988, a relationship formed to bridge geographical and cultural divides and develop friendship and understanding. Residents of the two cities participate in regular exchanges among political and business leaders, arts and cultural representatives, technical experts, teachers and students.
The Phoenix Sister Cities Commission is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that promotes international people-to-people relationships through educational, cultural and economic development exchanges. Phoenix's other sister cities include Calgary, Canada; Catania, Italy; Chengdu, China; Grenoble, France; Hermosillo, Mexico; Himeji, Japan; Prague, Czech Republic; and Taipei, Taiwan.
For more information on the program, call 602-534-3751.
Media Contact:
| Christiana Ferris |
602-262-6169 |
| Rick Gerrard |
602-495-5918 |
