The event, “Shalom Ireland,” was held at the Riverdale Y as part of the Riverdale Jewish Festival of the Arts and featured participants from the Emerald Isle Immigration Center and also the high stepping dancers of the Keltic Dreams Irish dance troupe.
The Keltic Dreams idea was conceived by Caroline Duggan, a music teacher from Dublin who transformed PS 59 in the Bronx, an elementary school that is 71 percent Hispanic and 27 percent Africa American, by turning her students on to the joys of Irish dancing. Duggan was honored in September at the Echo’s Bronx awards celebration
“The Northwest Bronx is home to large Irish and Jewish populations and both communities share a rich history of social and political activism on behalf of the needy.
“Shalom Ireland, the Council’s innovative cultural program, is designed to strengthen the relationship between the Irish and Jewish communities by bringing together neighbors from different backgrounds in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere,” said event organizer and president of the Riverdale Jewish Community Council, Ari Hoffnung.
“Our organization has sponsored the Briscoe Awards since 1994. The Briscoe awards are bestowed each year on members of New York’s Jewish community in appreciation of efforts to better the lives of immigrants. Robert Briscoe was the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin. He was elected to that office in 1956, a time when New York City had not yet seen its first Jewish mayor,” said Emerald Isle’s chairman, Brian O’Dwyer.