Portraits of The Global Irish
March 2010
We may be living through tough times in Ireland but the Irish identity is still a source of inspiration and hope in the most unlikely corners of the world. In the run-up to this year's St Patrick's Day, RTÉ.ie brings you an exclusive series of profiles of remarkable Irish people from Beijing to Buenos Aires.
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Beijing - Aidan Duffy
Aidan, from Clonmacnoise, left Ireland 22 years ago and now lives and works near Tiananmen Square in central Beijing. He is the general manager of the Chang'An club, Beijing's premier private members' club where China's elite make decisions affecting hundreds of millions of ordinary Chinese people. The club will host a St Patrick's Day party as Aidan tries to bring a bit of Ireland to Beijing.
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Cape Town - Fr Dick O'Riordan
Corkman Fr Dick O'Riordan represents the last wave of Irish missionaries who went to places like South Africa to work with the most marginalized and disadvantaged people in society. Deported in 1978 and again in 1986, Fr O'Riordan worked in Tanzania, Zambia and Lesotho before returning to South Africa in the early 1990s to continue his work in the townships of Cape Town.
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New York - Alexei Kondratiev
Meet Alexei. Raised in Burgundy, France, he grew up near the site of ancient Celtic remains, and was inspired to learn everything he could about Celtic cultures. In his teens he taught himself how to speak Irish and is now a much-loved character at the Irish Arts Center in New York, where he has been teaching Irish language, Celtic mythology and Celtic Christianity courses for over 20 years.
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London - Celestine Cooney
Born in Co Meath, Celestine is one of London's top stylists and is the Fashion Director for the fashion book, Twin Magazine. She has also worked for Dazed and Confused, Vogue, and V Magazine. Get an exclusive insight into Celestine's London 'fairytale' as she styles a tribute shoot for the late Alexander McQueen, plays her harmonica and hangs out at her favourite East London café.
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Toronto - Tara Lyons
Tara Lyons's love affair with Canada began when the man who is now her husband dropped to his knees and asked for her hand at Niagara Falls in 2007. After chatting with members of the Irish community in Toronto, Tara, who is from Galway, realised the potential in bringing her web business to Canada and starting up afresh. Today the business is thriving, and Tara is starting the process to become a permanent resident.
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Buenos Aires - Mick Connery
Kilkenny man Mick is passing on his hurling skills to youths in Argentina. His devotion to teaching a new generation of hurlers is driven by a desire to help re-establish the game in a country where it thrived among Irish emigrants till its decline in the 1930s. Mick's easygoing nature has made him a hugely popular figure in his adopted country, among his workmates and, of course, in the hurling club.
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