We've had a query in from a journalist at a new Irish-American news outlet seeking to profile Irish people working in NY - she thought our members would be interested and surely some of us would be! The request is simple, with just an email q and a - if you're interested, drop a line to communications@ibonewyork.org and we'll forward it on. 

We've launched a new monthly email to connect J-1 Visa Holders with job opportunities - if you're on our list you should have received the information below. The 1-Year Graduate USA Visa Program is designed for Irish passport holders recently graduated from an Irish college. J-1 Visa Holders have 90 days after arrival in the U.S. to find employment anywhere in the country.

Given the IBO’s extensive network of professionals across an array of industries, we believe we can be of assistance to J-1 Visa Holders currently looking for employment.

Please review the list of J-1 Visa Holders below, which has their credentials and the industry/sector that they are interested in.

If either you or someone you know has an opening within this industry that you believe would be appropriate for a J-1 Visa Holder with these credentials, please let us know by emailing us at info@ibonewyork.org.

We can then make the introduction between yourself and the student and let the dialogue go from there.

Degrees/Accreditation: MSC, International Business, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School; Bachelor Degree, Commerce International with French, University College Cork
Industry/Job Desired: Marketing, Digital Marketing, Advertising

Degrees/Accreditation: Bachelor of Business Administration Exchange, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin; BA in International Business, University of Limerick
Industry/Job Desired: Business/Finance

Degrees/Accreditation: B.S. in Computer Systems, University of Limerick
Industry/Job Desired: Technology

Degrees/Accreditation: DCU, BSC Biotechnology
Industry/Job Desired: Healthcare

Degrees/Accreditation: BSC Biology and Bioprocessing, DCU
Industry/Job Desired: Healthcare

Our friends at Sober St. Patrick’s Day® are partnering with the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Inc. to launch Rediscovering St. Patrick’s Day™ Livestream Book Club. 

The run up to March 17th is a great time to learn about the life of St. Patrick and what he did for the “isle of saints and scholars. This new, free book club will help you do just that — it is designed for participants to learn more about the saint and grow both intellectually and spiritually. 

The Letters of Saint Patrick – a Historical New Translation by Marcus Losack has been recommended by Dr. Tim Campbell, Director, Saint Patrick Visitor Centre, Downpatrick, NI, one of a number of experts on the life and legacy of St. Patrick. The book is 100 pages and in large print.

In-person Zoom meetings @ 2 p.m. in NYC and 7 p.m. in Ireland on (3) Sundays: January 22nd, February 5th, and March 5th

Venue for in-person meeting is 33 Club, 323 East 33rd, NY, NY 10016.

All registrants will receive a Zoom link.

Sign up to receive book club registration details and Zoom link for online participants here:  https://www.soberstpatricksday.org/livestream-book-club.html

Purchase the The Letters of Saint Patrick hard copy and/or Kindle version on amazon here:  https://a.co/d/7mSWbDK

My Ireland presents a factual and descriptive account of Ireland in the 1950s from the perspective of the author and IBO Member Margaret Connor looking back on her early life in the country of her birth. My Ireland is a historical and cultural walk down memory lane. It is more than a memoir. Rather, it is a loving and earnest conversation with Ireland’s rural past and its people.

Margaret Connor grew up on a small farm outside the town of Ballina in County Mayo. She left home as a teenager to work in Dublin in the hotel business. From there, she immigrated to the United States where she earned a B.A. from Harvard University followed by an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. This led to a career in Silicon Valley as a finance officer in the technology industry. Margaret currently lives in Greenwich, CT where she remains involved in her profession by consulting with early-stage ventures.

My Ireland is available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.  Click here for a link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/My-Ireland-Margaret-Connor/dp/B0BMT39BNM

With Giving Tuesday coming up, members might consider giving supporting the Irish Business Organization of New York (IBO), by supporting us in one or more of the following ways:

• Make a donation
• Sign up or renew your membership
• Buy your ticket to one or both of two upcoming IBO events in December. 

The IBO is an entirely voluntary organization, and we have considerable operating expenses - everything from the hosting of our membership platform, to storage fees, to the professional services that all organizations need. We've been in existence since 1973 and we're gearing up for our 50th anniversary celebrations next year.

Ireland-based member Kathleen Fanning is giving us a special deal for Thanksgiving: a great offer on the "Female Leaders Burnout Survival Kit : Tools to Help You Support Your Team (and Family) Without the Stress and Overwhelm". Kathleen was a great guest speaker at one of our Networking Breakfasts in the spring.

Here's the scoop from Kathleen:

In honor of Thanksgiving, I decided to do something special to thank you for being part of my Irish American community... that also gives back to those in need.

If you dream of finding more balance in your life and to know how to stop reacting to the many stress triggers life doles out to us, I've put together something special for you... 

Check it out here: 

Thanks + Giving = 93% OFF

Female Leaders Burnout Survival Kit: Tools to Help You Support Your Team (and Family) Without the Stress and Overwhelm. It features 5 of my best trainings, worksheets, books  and more that will help you pull back from Overwhelm and Burnout to find the calm and balance you desire.

• AND $15 from each purchase goes to Médecins Sans Frontières- Doctors Without Borders.

The Female Leaders Burnout Survival Kit : Tools to Help You Support Your Team (and Family) Without the Stress and Overwhelm 

The Survival Kit is valued at over $1,319 but your investment is only $97... which means you save 93%...!

PLUS... $15 of your investment will go directly to Médecins Sans Frontières - Doctors Without Borders, and their courageous work supporting those in greatest need in famine and war torn regions.

This special ends MONDAY 28^th November at midnight, so don’t wait: Get Your Female Leaders Burnout Survival Kit now and SAVE 93%

Here’s everything you get and how you’ll benefit when you get my Thanks + Giving offer the Female Leaders Burnout Survival Kit TODAY...

• LIVE Virtual Workshop (Value: $497)
• 4 Step Guide to Move from Overwhelm and a Feeling of Never Being Finished to a Sense of Calm, Focus and Appreciation ($100)
• Fill Your Well: 30 Days of Resilience Journal posted directly to you ($25)
• The Wheel of Personal & Professional Life: A Powerful Tool to Help you Visualise all areas of your life  (Value: $197)
• 1 Hour Private Strategy Session: How to amplify your natural strengths and develop the critical skills to succeed as a leader Professionally and Personal and Life. (Value: $500)

Value of all the above is $1319

Your Total Investment: $97 of which $15 goes to Médecins Sans Frontières - Doctors Without Borders to support their amazing work! 

Book here now! 

Member Brian Moran is offering a great discount for members to join his Bricks or Sticks class, which he is conducting with colleague Jocelyn Ring. Here is a link to the registration page - www.bricksorsticks.com.

IBO members interested in joining should use the code word FAMILY (in all CAPS) in the promo code box. That will make the class $250 instead of $497. Classes start December 5^th. In January, the workshop price will go up to $997.

A testimonial from Paul Finnegan, IBO President 2022/23:

Having recently committed to a new business venture of my own in recent weeks,  I have found the Bricks or Sticks course to be extremely foundational to my thinking, and that is what the course is all about, building a solid foundation.  IBO member Brian Moran and his associate Jocelyn Ring cover everything from determining what kind of business person you are, to various mindsets, to GPS planning, to 'what-ifs', to branding, and much more.  The course can be taken in the stride of your busy life (and it also discusses time management at length).  I highly recommend it to our members, especially at the discounted rate Brian is offering IBO members.

More details on the workshop from Brian: 

During the workshops, we will:

• Examine three types of business ownership to see which one makes the most sense for each participant and how they should structure their business and avoid pitfalls

• Discuss the differences between a reactive mindset and a proactive one (and how to be more proactive in business)
  
  
• Put together “GPS Plans” that help business owners navigate uncertain and uncharted territory to achieve their strategic goals

• Play a game called “What If…” and put together contingency plans, so they know how to get around obstacles before they reach them (this means more peace and better sleep)

• Review internal and external brand messaging to better engage with customers, prospects, and employees so they don’t chase marketing “shiny objects” that promise to hook customers and talent. 

• Lastly, Jocelyn and I will share our “secret sauce” for success. It’s something we call DCA—Discipline, Commitment, and Accountability. This is what we’ve found to be the missing link for 99% of business owners. 

Each week, we will release new content which will include a series of videos and a PDF workbook. 

We will have a one-hour live discussion with everyone in the workshop on Thursdays at 11:00 am ET.

There will be a private Facebook group where participants can network with one another and ask us questions. We’ll be very active in the discussions there. 

Our November evening meeting on November 9 at the Bank of Ireland NYC Hub was another great success, with members gathering to live out our motto and "Network, Communicate, Reciprocate!" The highlight of the evening was our featured speaker, Andrea Haughian, the Executive Vice President and Head of Americas at Invest NI, Northern Ireland’s Economic Development Agency, who was interviewed in a fireside chat by Alison Metcalfe, Executive Vice President, North America & Australia, Tourism Ireland.

There were introductory remarks from Paul Finnegan, who spoke about our upcoming 50th-anniversary celebrations and the board that has started planning for it. He thanked our sponsors, the Bank of Ireland NYC Hub, Saratoga Economic Development Corporation, Integrated Printing and Graphics, and the Emigrant Support Programme of Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs.  There was business to attend to: the vote on the three proposed changes to the bylaws. Past president John Lee announced the 2023 board: President Paul Finnegan, First Vice President Sean O'Dowd, Second Vice President Maura Clare, Treasurer Maria Smith, Secretary Colleen Berry Conway, Communications Director Noreen Bowden, and Membership Director Peter O'Neill. Jane McCooey spent a few minutes speaking about Women with Ambition, a network for Irish- and Irish-American women to come together to learn skills for success in business. Among the guests was Denis Brownlee, the founder and president of the African American Irish Diaspora Network. 

The members were treated to a fascinating discussion between two of the most prominent women working for the island of Ireland in America, and afterward mingled and enjoyed refreshments and some lively interaction. 

If you missed it, catch up with the video on our Facebook page!

A member has passed along news to us of the Irish government's new registry for birth information, which may be of interest. Here are a few notes from the government's press release: 

A new law provides a right of access to birth certificates, birth and early life information for all persons who were adopted, boarded out, the subject of an illegal birth registration or resided as a child in a mother and baby home or county home institution. Additionally, it allows for access to information by a child of a relevant person where their parent has died, and for access by the next of kin of a child who died in an institution.

For the first time these people will have a clear right of access to their full birth certificates, and birth, early life, care, and medical information.

The law also established a new tracing service, enabling affected persons and those connected to them to actively seek contact or share information. The Act also introduced a wide range of new measures to address issues arising for people affected by illegal birth registration. A broad spectrum of counselling and support is available, on request, to persons affected. All of these services will be free of charge. 

Information and Tracing services are now open to applications. Applications can be made through www.birthinfo.ie.

The Tracing service will enable affected persons and their relatives to actively search for each other, either for contact, or to request or share information, including vital medical information.

For more information, see the government press release and visit www.birthinfo.ie.

Ogham Art, a unique specialty gift business celebrating the Celtic alphabet of Ogham, is celebrating their 12th anniversary!  On October 25, 2010, IBO Member Colleen Berry Conway and her husband Chris launched OghamArt.com which has also included hundreds of appearances at Irish festivals and artisan marketplaces across the Northeast. 

Ogham Art was built out of a love of Ireland and the hidden corners of its history.  At Ogham Art, you can find art, jewelry, home decor and custom work featuring Ogham - the first written form of the Primitive Irish language. Colleen and Chris continue to expand their offerings through a deeper appreciation and knowledge of Celtic culture. 

Colleen also lectures about the history of Ogham and a brief outline of the Celts and their languages.  She will be sharing her entrepreneurial journey as guest speaker at the November 29, 2022 IBO Breakfast Meeting on Zoom.

IBO Members save 20% at OghamArt.com with coupon code IBO20. Follow Ogham Art on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and connect with Colleen on LinkedIn!