The Okanagan Irish Society is a registered non-profit Society and our constitution, and by-laws are governed by section B of the Society’s Act of British Columbia. Our mandate is to promote the Irish culture within the Canadian mosaic and look after our own in a non-political and non-sectarian manner. We currently have over 110 members and we arrange a variety of social functions for our members and their friends – social dinner/pub nights/coffee mornings/ sing-along gatherings, Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day dinners and BBQ’s. For over thirty years our benevolent fund has helped our members who are ill or in need.
The Society contributes annual bursaries to young Irish dancers involved with the three Irish Dance Schools operating in the Okanagan.
In addition, several of our members are musicians and singers. They formed a group called “Ceol na hÉireann” literally “Music of Ireland” and are aligned with the Okanagan Irish Society. They entertain at many of our functions and also entertain at several senior facilities throughout the Okanagan. They have performed a fundraising concert for the past several years in the fall in aid of a local charity. Any time they are asked, they entertain unless they are previously committed.
We welcomed a new board member at our last Annual General Meeting in October 2024. Noel Murphy joined and graciously accepted the nomination for Vice-President and has been a great help to the Society. We are looking for someone to fill our Social Convener position and are happy to have new members come and join us anytime.
Our St. Patrick’s Day Bash was held again at St. Edward’s Parish Hall in Lake Country on Saturday, March 15th, and was once again well attended. We had dancers from Castilla School of Irish Dance and of course singing with our very own Ceol na hÉireann. Everyone had a fabulous time, enjoyed a great meal of copious and delicious food and our Dry Bar was a great success.
We are still hosting monthly coffee gatherings at local coffee venues and have found some lovely coffee shops. Our coffee morning on Thursday, March 20, was well attended with 13 members at The Tackle Box in Kelowna. Next month we’ll be at Helmuts Sausage Kitchen at 1675 Commerce Ave, Kelowna.
Coming up please save the date of Saturday, June 14 as the Vancouver Le Cheile Gaelic Athletic Association will be hosting a day of exhibition Gaelic football, camogie, and hurling for young players here in Kelowna. This is a great opportunity to come and see our national sports on display locally. Watch our Facebook page for more information.
The following day, Sunday, June15, is Father’s Day, and we will be hosting a BBQ at The Farm which always proves to be a great and lively event. We will be presenting the Ita Duncombe Bursary awards at that event. Application information for this bursary will be going out to our young dancers in the coming weeks.
We want to resume our monthly Trivia Pub Nights. One Irish themed Trivia night was held last August, and it was so much fun that we are determined to do another one. If you have any suggestions for activities and would like to lend us a hand, we are always open to having people assist us.
For membership in the Society contact Ethna Tutt, 778-480-4996 or email ethnatutt@hotmail.com
To contact our President Vincent Sherry vandjsherry@gmail.com
The three Irish Dance Schools in the Okanagan are as follows:
Blakey School of Irish Dance https://www.facebook.com/blakeyschool/
Castilla School of Irish Dance https://www.castillairishdance.com/
Ticalie Irish Dance Academy https://www.ticalieacademy.com/
Okanagan Irish Society https://www.facebook.com/okanaganirishsociety