111th. Annual St. Patrick's Day Dinner Set for March 16

The Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago and President Brian Hickey, President of Local 399 is pleased to announce that Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, T.D. Prime Minister of Ireland will be their Special Guest at the their St. Patrick’s Day dinner on Friday, March 16th at the Hilton Chicago.

The club will also be honoring this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal, Rev. Clete Kiley, Director for immigration Policy at  UniteHere, Guest of Honor,Rev. Jack Clair, Assistant Executive Director, Misericordia Home and Special Honoree Mercy Home for Boys & Girls St.

This year’s dinner Chairman is Margaret Houlihan Smith, Director of State and Local Governmental Affairs for United Airlines. Margaret has promised a great evening, with music from Shannon Rovers, Irish Music of Chicago and City Light Orchestra Band.   Cocktails will be at 6:00 PM and Dinner to follow at 7:30 PM.  Tickets are $ 150.00.  For more information or to purchase tickets please call Kathy Taylor, Executive Director at 312-676-4120

You can view and download the invitation and reply card at the end of this article.

On Saturday March 17th a number of Irish Fellowship Club activities are planned for the day and all IFC members and their families are extended a hearty Irish welcome to join in the festivities.

The day will begin with an Irish Mass at Old St. Patrick’s Church at 9:00 a.m. Fr. Tom Hurley, Chaplain of the Irish Fellowship Club, will celebrate the Mass in the famed Celtic liturgical surroundings.  After Mass, an Irish breakfast will be served in the Old St. Patrick’s Hall. For reservations to the breakfast and mass please contact Anna VanHandel, phone 312-831-9372. Having been spiritually and physically nourished, it’s off to the parade. Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade will step off at 12:00 noon from Balbo and Columbus Drive and proceed north on Columbus drive to Monroe Street.

The usual delegation of politicians and dignitaries will lead the walk up O’Columbus Drive. Father Clete Kiley will lead the way as the Grand Marshal of the parade. The Irish Fellowship Club float and marching group will follow immediately behind. Fellowship members and their families are all invited to march with the club. Fellowship marchers are asked to assemble by 11:45 a.m. at the Irish Fellowship Club float. The float will be positioned near the corner of Balbo and Columbus Drive. IFC parade sashes will be provided to the first few hundred marchers to assemble. IFC President Brian Hickey and IFC Chairman Patrick D. Thompson, along with the officers and directors of the Irish Fellowship Club, extend their best wishes for a VERY HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY.

View and download invitation and reply card below.

In 1902, a group of Irishmen formed The Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago to preserve and promote their heritage. They dedicated themselves to continuing the celebration of St. Patrick's Day in Chicago and sharing their Irish Culture and values with the citizens of our beloved city—Chicago.

While promoting friendship and fellowship among the members of the club, the ideals and traditions of their Irish ancestry became a part of the new traditions of Chicago.

From the Introduction to

“The Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago—One Hundred Years”:

The centennial of The Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago marks a moment of high history in the story of the growth and development of the Irish in the City of Chicago. This amazing century, spanning the years from 1901 to 2001, stands as a golden era of Chicago life. The political, commercial and religious character of the city was galvanized by the arrival of teeming numbers of immigrants whose commitment to hard work and New World achievements made Chicago a twentieth century wonder. And no one made themselves more at home in the wonder