A chairde, Greetings to all from the original Hollywood here in west Wicklow. Beannachtaí dhaoibh uilig. The Hollywood Fair this year takes place from Wed 14th to Sun 18th August. It promises to be the best yet. Hopefully you will be able to join us for the celebrations. The Hollywood Fair Book for this year will be on sale shortly in local shops for €5. This year’s Book for the Year of the Gathering will include numerous photographs from last year’s Fair. It will be a top class printed book in full colour. As well as being available in local shops the book will also be on sale at all the events of the Fair itself, including the major Hollywood GAA Gathering on Friday 16th August. The book this year will feature a number of articles of GAA interest. There is an in-depth interview with local football star Tony Hannon in which he reflects on his long career with the Wicklow team and his club career with Hollywood. Another Hollywood great, Paddy Clarke who starred for the club in the seventies, has written a very funny reminiscence piece for the book. Paddy has lived in New York for the last 30 years but has been a frequent visitor home over the years. Another article of GAA and wider interest will be the personal tribute to Larry and Trish Roddy from their son Eoin. Because this is the Year of the Gathering we invited Hollywood emigrants from around the world to contribute articles for this year’s book. As well as Paddy Clarke’s contribution from New York there will be feature articles from Brendan Corrigan writing from Milan in Italy, Vincent Deering writing from Adelaide in Australia (Vincent was another former Hollywood footballer), former Hollywood curate Fr John Dunphy writing about his years in Kenya and Zimbabwe in Africa; Brigid Glennon writes about working for the EU in Brussels, and Mary Kelly writes about her experience living and working in London. There will also be a feature article about a Hollywood family who emigrated to England in the 1950s but returned home to live in Hollywood in the 1970s. Another article profiles a Humphrystown great-grandmother who came back to the area where her own mother had been born and reared. Brendan Corrigan’s article in the Book will be of particular interest. This is a very well researched genealogical and historical piece about local Hollywood man Mathew Guirke who emigrated to the US in 1850 and is believed to have given the name of his native place to the Hollywood in California. While Brendan’s researches have been unable to prove the claim they have also established that it may well be true. The jury is still out. One thing that isn’t in doubt is that ours is the original Hollywood. We had the name Hollywood for over a thousand years before the one in California was ever heard of. The book this year will also feature the oldest surviving photo of a Hollywood football team. Taken in Baltinglass in 1936 on the occasion of the West Junior Football Final between Hollywood and Ballybrack the photograph shows 15 players and 27 supporters - a total of 42 people. The 15 players have been identified, and 12 of the spectators. This leaves a total of 15 spectators still to be identified. Because it is so old this photo will be of great interest to local people. Looking forward to seeing you there. Le gach dea-ghuí, Johnny / Seán
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 21:14:23 +0000
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