Shamrock Club of Wisconsin

The Shamrock Club is the oldest and largest Irish American membership organization in the State of Wisconsin. It was founded on March 17, 1960, in Milwaukee. Currently, there are chapters in Milwaukee, Rock County, (Beloit and Janesville), Northeastern Wisconsin, (Green Bay), South Central, (Baraboo), Dane County (Madison), New London, La Crosse, and Lafayette County, (Darlington). Statewide chapters hold monthly meetings, organize Saint Patrick's Day parades, change the city of New London to New Dublin for the week, raise the flag over the State Capitol, as well as other Irish related activities. All of the chapters are involved in fund-raising and have donated thousands of dollars to numerous causes in the past four decades. Membership includes the printed version of the monthly publication, [http://shamrockclubwis.com/page100.html the Emerald Reflections] .

The Shamrock Club was organized by members of Milwaukee's Irish community who had been a part of the Milwaukee Holiday Folk Fair's annual November festival. Helped by the International Institute of Wisconsin, the Club met to organize on March 17, 1960, St Patrick's Day. A few years later, it would incorporate under Wisconsin corporation laws, and later would receive a federal 501 C (4) as a charitable, social and cultural organization.

The Shamrock Club would gain a foothold in the Irish community by sponsoring and chartering flights to Ireland. These trips were very popular, and there were often multiple trips to Ireland each year. When the chartered flights program started, there was little in the way of direct flights to Ireland, and those that existed were often prohibitively expensive. Changes in the federal laws would take the Shamrock Club out of the charter business, as more commercial airlines saw the growing interest in Ireland to be a viable money making option for them.

Milwaukee St Patrick's Day Parade

The Shamrock Club would hold its first St Patrick's Parade in 1967 along Wisconsin Avenue. The parade was under the auspices of bar and restaurant owner Danny O'Donoghue for many years. O'Donoghue, a native of County Cork, was one of the driving forces of the Irish community in Milwaukee and Wisconsin for decades. The parade continued on Wisconsin Avenue until the Wisconsin Avenue's Bridge 1971 rebuilding forced a move to Mitchell Street, on Milwaukee's South Side. It would stay there until the North Avenue Business Association wooed it to North Avenue, from 53 to 74 Streets, in 1986. The parade crossed two cities, Milwaukee and Wauwatosa. The parade would later move to Bluemound Road for three years, until another move to Downtown Milwaukee took place in 2004, when a partnership with Westown Association helped to finance the bulk of the expenses. It annually draws between 25,000 to 60,000 spectators, braving the cold, the heat, snow, rain, or able to watch in perfect conditions.

There is an annual Mass on Parade Day at the historic St Patrick's Church, 7 and Washington. Now mainly a Hispanic parish, it is decorated in Celtic knots and has a statue in honor of St Patrick. The combination of pipes, choir and Gaelic liturgy have made it one of the highlights of the Irish community each St Patrick's Day.

A Post Parade Party has been held at various locations for the past 25 years. The most recent home has been the [http://www.ichc.net] Irish Cultural and Heritage Center, 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue, which is also the home of the Shamrock Club.

Beloit St. Patricks Day Parade

The Beloit St. Patricks Day Parade takes place every year in downtown Beloit. An attraction for the college students of the city, the local eateries serve green beer and decorate their store fronts in green. The parade begins at the Kerry Group headquarters, (a prominent food producer having originated in Ireland, and finishes in Beloit's Central Park (Horace White). The parade is held annually on the Friday before St. Patricks Day.

Milwaukee Chapter of the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin

The Milwaukee Chapter meets the first Thursday of each month at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center, 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue. The telephone number is 414-774-7474. It is also a 24-hour a day Irish activity line.

Milwaukee Activities Include:MARCH ST. PATRICK'S DAY EVENTS:

*Gaelic Mass at St. Patrick's Parish, 7th and Washington

*Parade at Noon, Wisconsin Avenue.

*Post Parade party, 1 p.m. at the ICHC.

*Monthly meeting, 1st Thursdays of the month, 7:00 p.m., ICHC

*Visit us at Irish Fest in the Sales and Cultural Areas

*See us at Milwaukee's Holiday Folk Fair in the Cultural, Food, and Retail areas

*Join us for our annual picnic in August.

*Christmas Party and Pot Luck Dinner.

*Emerald Reflections, our monthly newsletter

*Shamrock Club Color Guard Pipes and Drums

Milwaukee Board of Directors:

The 2008-2009 board of directors for the Milwaukee chapter are as follows: Julie Smith, president; Sandy Quinlan, Vice President; John Fisher, treasurer; Linda Tuescher, secretary; Malkin Wallace, sergeant at arms; Noel Tylla, membership chair; Josh Walton, parliamentarian; Brian Witt, past president; and trustees: Noreen Barclay, Kathy Donovan and Mary Culver. Their terms are from July 1 until June 30, 2008.

They can be contacted at [e-mail]

hamrock Club Color Guard Pipes and Drums

The [http://www.sccgpd.org Shamrock Club Color Guard Pipes and Drums] carry the colors of the Shamrock Club, Ireland, and various Irish organizations of Wisconsin. They have marched in Dublin, Ireland, San Antonio, Texas, Savannah, Georgia, New Orleans, Louisiana, and New York City. The combination of the Color Guard with the fully augmented pipe band has brought awards and praise to the unit.

tate Chapters

As interest in the Irish in Wisconsin grew, various chapters came to life across Wisconsin. Many have disappeared, including Twin Lakes, Fox Cities and Fond du Lac. The current chapters include [http://shamrockclublax.org] the Shamrock Club of La Crosse, in Western Wisconsin; Darlington's [http://www.angelfire.com/wi3/shamrocksoflafayette] LaFayette County chapter] ; The Rock County Chapter, in Beloit and Janesville; New London's [http://www.newdublin.com] Shamrock Club of New Dublin; Dane County, [http://www.madison.com/communities/shamrock] based in Madison; The Shamrock Club of Green Bay and NE Wisconsin [http://www.shamrockclubofgreenbay.com] , in Green Bay; and the South Central Chapter, based in Baraboo and Portage.

Organizations that Grew From the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin

Organizations that grew directly or indirectly from the Shamrock Club are Milwaukee Irish Fest, http://irishfest.com, founded in 1981 by Ed Ward, past president of the Shamrock Club; Cashel Dennehy http://www.casheldennehy.net, and Trinity Irish Dancers, http://www.trinitydancers.com, formed when the Shamrock Club gave up control of the Shamrock Club Dancers; the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center of Wisconsin, http://www.ichc.net, founded by Shamrock Club members as a home for Milwaukee's Irish; and Celtic Women International,http://www.celticwomen.org, and the Conference of Celtic Women, http://www.celticwomen.org both founded by Jean Bills, who was treasurer of the Shamrock Club at the time.

External links

* [http://shamrockclubwis.com Shamrock Club's Website] ,
* [http://www.sccgpd.com Shamrock Club's Color Guard Website]
* [http://www.saintpatricksparade.org Milwaukee St Patrick's Day Parade]

References

1* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20030316/ai_n10865127] Parade-goers are green and GabbyMilwaukee Journal Sentinel, by BRUCE MURPHY March 16, 2003

2 * [http://www2.jsonline.com/dd/destwis/0314mccann.asp Finnegan's wake a yearly event in New Dublin] By Dennis McCann; Milwaukee e Journal Sentinel staffMarch 15, 1999

3 * [http://www.storyhill.net/IssuesParade.htm Shamrock Club and Bluemound Group Split] Story Hill News January 18, 2004

4* [http://www.google.com/Top/Society/Ethnicity/Celtic/Irish/Irish-American/Wisconsin/ Google Ethnic Pages

5 * [http://www2.jsonline.com/enter/netlife/loohauis/feb01/loohcol01022801.asp] Jackie Loohauis - Dancing, drumming for warmthLast Updated: Feb. 28, 2001 JS online