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When Grandpa Trod the Boards: From The Colleen Bawn to the Irish Cultural Garden

Title page from The Colleen Bawn script.   In 1933, when Joseph John Gilbride was 23 years old, he took to the stage. Grandpa had a bit part as a soldier in a production of the 19th century Irish play, The Colleen Bawn , by Dion Boucicault. The play was produced in Cleveland's Little Theater in Public Hall. 1   My grandpa's name and address in The Colleen Bawn cast list. 2   Now, it's not a huge stretch to imagine Grandpa doing a bit of theater. He was an outgoing fella, prone to jokes, puns, and visual nonsense that made his grandkids laugh.  Cut-up Grandpa checks out his new headphones, getting a smile from Grandma! 3 But beyond the novelty of thinking about a young Grandpa playing a soldier, it was the context of this Theater of Nations endeavor and the groups that helped produce  The Colleen Bawn  that grabbed my attention.   Beginnings  It began with this announcement on 13 December 1929 in The Plain Dealer: Races of City to Give Plays with P...
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An Irish Perspective on Scranton


You may have heard that President Joe Biden traveled to his ancestral homeland in County Mayo, Ireland back in April. President Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, also the birthplace of several of our Gilbride and McAndrew family lines, who likely also trace their roots back to County Mayo. At least one ancestor, my great-great grandmother Ann Kelly McAndrew, reportedly was born in County Mayo, though her exact birthplace is yet to be discovered.1

While in Ireland, President Biden visited the North Mayo Heritage Centre, dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich heritage of the region. The Centre's April 16, 2023 publication—Mayo Heritage Newsletter—profiled Scranton and its links to Mayo, in honor of President's visit.2 

I asked Centre staff for permission to include this article here, as it is interesting to see Scranton through Irish eyes. Many thanks to the North Mayo Heritage Centre staff for allowing me to reprint their newsletter article. 

If you prefer to read the article in PDF form, click here and download "Newsletter 16/04/23." Find an archive of past newsletters at the same webpage.

Until next time...

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NOTES

All links accessed 16 May 2023.

1 State of Ohio, Department of Health, Certificate of Death 68240, Ann McAndrew, 16 December 1925; database and images, "Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9PKD-RJM : 16 May 2023); citing County Courthouse, Cleveland.

2 "Scranton," Mayo Heritage Newsletter, Vol. IV, #16, 16 April 2023; digital image, North Mayo Heritage Centre (https://www.northmayogenealogy.com/latest). Images used with permission.

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