Raising O' The Green: Homeless Benefit Takes On An Irish Tenor
Published: March 10, 2008 12:40 am
By Amanda McGregor, Staff writer
What would a St. Patrick's Day party be without the bad Irish jokes?
Local politicians donned green attire and drew some laughs at yesterday's third annual Old-Fashioned Irish St. Patrick's Day Political Luncheon to raise money for the River House homeless shelter in Beverly.
"Poor Patrick is not doing too well; he's on his death bed," said School Committee member Jim Latter, starting in on a joke about an Irishman who smells ham cooking and wants to savor a bite in his final days. He asks his wife, Bridget, for a piece of ham, but she says no.
"Bridget says, 'Oh, Patrick, it's for the wake,'" Latter said.
The party, held at the Pickled Onion on Beverly's Rantoul Street, was hosted by Latter and City Councilor-at-large Bill Coughlin, who was decked in green, including his blazer, cowboy hat adorned with a gold shamrock, and lapel flower and necktie.
Congressman John Tierney, D-Salem, steered clear of Irish humor and told a joke about President George Bush and Democratic senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The three of them ponder selling their brains to be transplanted and Bush is smug that his will fetch a higher price than the two senators'.
"That just shows your brain is not used,' they told him," Tierney said. Dozens of people turned out for the live music, a step dance performance by 9-year-old Kristin Doucette and, of course, a boiled corned beef and cabbage dinner, which the Pickled Onion donates to the event every year.
John Archer, a River House board member, belted out several Irish tunes — like "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" — and got the crowd to sing along. Singer Tom Edmonds also entertained the crowd accompanied by Wendy Stewart at the piano, and Kevin Lehy and Skip Tobin sang and played guitar.
"The community support is really quite something," said Kate Benashski, director of River House, which shelters up to 30 individuals including five single-room occupancy apartments for the chronically homeless.
"It's important because state funding is very limited and our operating costs are very high," said Benashski, who wore a green sweater for yesterday's party but had to abstain from the boiled dinner since she's a vegetarian. "The case management is quite labor intensive because the key is getting people hooked into services, jobs, and housing so they can move forward."
Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody, who has recently been hospitalized for blood clots and related complications, couldn't make it to yesterday's event. Instead, he donated two Red Sox tickets that were raffled off for the cause — and party-goers signed a Happy St. Patrick's Day card for Berry.
Cindy Modugno won the two tickets to see the Red Sox play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in May, drawn by Cheri Coughlin.
Other familiar faces at yesterday afternoon's party included Mayor Bill Scanlon; city councilors Kevin Hobin, Pat Grimes, Judith Cronin, Maureen Troubetaris and John Burke; School Committee Chairwoman Annemarie Cesa and member Paul Manzo; and state Rep. John Keenan, D-Salem.
"While we all have fun with this and enjoy St. Patrick's Day," Latter said, "it's good to know this supports an important cause."
