That’s what the Irish call it in Irish Heritage Month including any and all events leading up to and including St. Patrick’s Day. One local man who cherishes this time of year is J.C. aka John Charles Sullivan.
Sullivan, a resident of Northfield Village has been active in the Irish Community of northeast Ohio for some time now. He traces his roots to Counties Cork, Tipperary, and Mayo. A long-time member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH.com), a Catholic Fraternal Order, he has served many offices in the order, including National Board Press Officer. The AOH is the oldest and largest Irish American organization in the U.S. with Divisions throughout Ohio. Irish women have their own separate organization, the Ladies Ancient of Hibernians (ladiesoh.com) although both always work together.
“I’ve met and made so many friends in the Order and in the Cleveland Mayo Society that have enriched my life. I’ve met other Hibernians (Hibernia was the Roman word for Ireland) from throughout Ohio and the Nation through Annual and semi-annual Conventions. While we accomplish much work you can imagine they are fun gatherings too. We have been successful in convincing Greeting Card and Tee Shirt companies to drop negative stereotypical caricatures of the Irish, although our work remains undone yet.”
He is currently a member of Akron’s Mark Heffernan AOH Division (aohakron.com) where he serves as Press Officer. He also is a co-host of The Gerry Quinn Irish Radio Show at WHK, 1420 am, from ten to noon Sunday mornings. “We have a great chemistry together with Gerry and our other two co-hosts, Eddie Fitzpatrick and Colleen Corrigan Day. We have guests on the show, world-known and local. Mary Robinson, Past President of Ireland, and Edward J. Crawford, who was the recent American Ambassador to Ireland are only two examples. Crawford recently endowed a School of Entrepreneurship at Kent State University. Local musicians perform live on the show. Sullivan is the show’s videographer. “I post the film on YouTube afterward but one or two of us usually use Facebook Live during the show.”
Sullivan says they are heard live on 1420am and can also be streamed at whkradio.com. Additionally, the show can be heard on the station’s Podcast, which usually is up within a few hours afterward.
