Here’s a look at The Tablet’s annual Great Irish Fair special pullout section that appeared in the Sept. 8 issue of the newspaper. Click on an individual story to read more. Below is a list of important times and locations for the fair as well as a breakdown of the musical performances and activities. The Great Irish Fair takes place Sept. 15 and 16 at MCU Park in Coney Island.

Catholic School Past Guides Chief Brehon

Tablet reporter Jim Mancari profiles this year’s Great Irish Fair chief brehon Bob Benya, the president and CEO of iNDEMAND Networks, who discusses his upbringing in Catholic schools.

Setting a Positive Example as Colleen Queen 2012

Tablet reporter Antonina Zielinska spoke to Great Irish Fair colleen queen Taylor Powers. Powers has attended the fair almost every year of her young life and is looking forward to taking part again this year.

Great Irish Fair Honorees 2012

Meet the honores of the 2012 Great Irish Fair.

Scenes from The Great irish Fair 2011

Take a look back at some of the scenes from last’ year Great Irish Fair.

Fairgrounds at MCU Park

Check out a map of how this year’s fair is set up.

Special Events for Families

Find out what’s going on at this year’s fair.

Entertainment at the Fair

A schedule of the musical performances at this year’s fair.

Coney Island MCU Park

Surf Avenue & West 21st Street, Coney Island

Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 15 and 16 10:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Benefitting Catholic Schools in Brooklyn and Queens

Traditional & Contemporary Irish Music by:

Andy Cooney • Derek Warfield and The Young Wolfe Tone

Shilelagh Law • A Band of Rogues • Unforgettable Fire

The Canny Brothers • Jameson’s Revenge

An Event For The Entire Family

Great Food, Pubs, Spirits, Irish Music, Irish Step Dancing,

Shopping, Children’s Rides, Family Entertainment

and so much more…  for more information 

www.gifnyc.com

by Jim Mancari

This year’s Chief Brehon of the Great Irish Fair, Bob Benya, couldn’t be a more deserving choice.

Benya, the president and CEO of iNDEMAND Networks, has thrived on his Irish upbringing and Catholic education. He’s originally from Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan but has lived the past 20-plus years in Breezy Point.

Benya’s great grandparents were born in Ireland. His father is Slovakian, but his mother (maiden name Dolan) ensured that he understood his Irish heritage.

Bob Benya

Growing up, Benya spent his grade school years at the Epiphany School in Manhattan. His family attended the school’s accompanying parish each week. Now, the Benyas are parishioners at St. Thomas More, Breezy Point.

Benya and his wife Barbara, nee Kelly, have four children. Their oldest daughter, Caitlin, is a Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass., graduate. Their son, Dylan, graduated from Loyola University, New Orleans, and is now living in Colorado. Their youngest two sons, Carson and Robby, are high school students at Poly Prep, Dyker Heights.

While he enjoys spending time with his family — especially playing golf — Benya is heavily involved in charity work at his grammar school in the form of the Epiphany School Education Foundation, which aims to raise funds to keep the school thriving.

In today’s economy, it has become a financial challenge for parents to send their children to Catholic schools. Based on Benya’s positive experience in Catholic school, he has devoted significant time to seeing that these children are given access to a quality Catholic education.

“That’s important because there are a lot of Catholic elementary schools that either have closed or on the verge of closing or in trouble financially,” he said.

Benya said that his early Catholic education shaped his beliefs at a crucial time in his life. He was an altar server and sang in the school’s choir, which taught him the importance of committing one’s time and energy to helping others.

“It’s really the most formative years of a person’s life,” he said. “I put a lot of value on making sure that I can do whatever I can do to help people that are at that stage.”

He played CYO basketball as a kid, which further emphasized the values that he practices today. He coached CYO basketball at Epiphany and now coaches at St. Thomas More.

Giving Back as a Counselor

After grade school, Benya continued his Catholic education at Xavier H.S., a Jesuit institution in Manhattan. He received a scholarship to the school’s higher achievement program, meaning he had to maintain a certain GPA all four years.

“I was fortunate that I got a lot of help when I was younger during those years so that I could attend the school that I attended,” he said.

In addition to playing on the school’s basketball team, Benya coached basketball for underprivileged youth during his high school years. He also taught the children reading, English and math as part of his scholarship program.

Also during his summers, Benya worked for Catholic Charities, which included serving as a camp counselor at the St. Vincent de Paul Camp in Monticello, N.Y. The camp was free for children from Catholic parishes whose families could not afford a summer vacation.

“We were like temporary parents,” Benya said. “We had to watch them 24/7. We had a lot of fun and got a lot out of it. To give the kids that kind of experience was just huge. It was a really great program to be involved with.”

As a counselor and today as a father, Benya has stressed the importance of having a strong work ethic and practicing Catholic values.

“Caring for others and being sensitive to others were two main lessons learned through my 12 years of Catholic schooling,” he said.

The Benya family in Rincon, Puerto Rico.

A Distinguished Media Career

Benya went on to attend New York University in Manhattan. During his junior year, he was recruited by his former CYO basketball coach to work for a Manhattan cable television company. He altered his class schedule so that he worked 40 hours a week during the day and attended class at night.

“It really set me up for future success in the industry,” he said.

Benya has worked for over 30 years in the media industry and has held a variety of positions. Three years ago, his background and experience led to his being named president and CEO of iN DEMAND Networks, a company owned by Comcast/NBCU, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks.

The company serves as the middleman in providing pay-per-view and on-demand programming for over 55 million customers in North America.

Excited for Great Irish Fair

Benya was notified by his good friend and fellow Xavier H.S. alumnus Brendan Gallagher — a board member of the Great Irish Fair — that he had been chosen as Chief Brehon. He was very excited to receive the honor.

“I think it’s great,” he said. “I think the cause is a really good cause. It’s similar to my role at Epiphany where I’m helping the school and helping kids. I think that’s important.”

The Benya family in Telluride, Colo.

This will be Benya’s first Great Irish Fair, so he’s thrilled to be able to share the experience and his Irish heritage with fairgoers and his family.

To further connect with his Irish roots, Benya said he and his family would someday plan a trip to Ireland once his youngest sons are finished with school. He’s looking forward to testing his golf skills on some of the country’s most challenging yet beautiful courses.

As the Irish proverb states, “The love of God guides every good.” These words ring true for Benya, as his love of God has led to his wonderful family life, successful business, rewarding charity work and, of course, his appointment as this year’s Chief Brehon.

Or maybe it’s just the “luck o’ the Irish.”

by Michael Kelly

A woman waves Ireland's flag during the opening ceremony of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin June 10.

DUBLIN (CNS) – The church in Ireland is on the path to renewal, church leaders told pilgrims at the opening Mass of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress June 10.

Welcoming pilgrims from more than 120 countries at an open-air Mass, Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said, “The church in Ireland rejoices today in the presence of pilgrims from many parts of the world who witness to the universality of our Catholic faith and who show their faith-filled fellowship and solidarity with the Church in Ireland.”

Ominous-looking rain clouds that had threatened proceedings receded as pilgrims began to arrive for the Mass. Delegates from the four provinces of Ireland carried their county flags and symbols of Ireland’s Christian heritage which, pilgrims were reminded, goes back to St. Patrick and the fifth century.  The congregation clapped and cheered as a young man spoke of Ireland’s faithfulness to the Mass during centuries of persecution in which many priests and Catholics were martyred.

International visitors took an opportunity to toll the congress bell and “ring for renewal.” The bell has been crisscrossing the country over the past two years, and an estimated 250,000 people have rung it as a concrete symbol of hopes for renewal.

In his homily, the papal legate, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, prayed the congress would “bring a special blessing to Ireland at this turbulent time.”

Challenges to the Church
He noted how “the church in Ireland is suffering and faces many new and serious challenges of the faith.”

He continued that “well aware of these challenges, we turn together to our Lord, who renews, heals and strengthens the faith of his people.”

Archbishop Martin told the 12,500 pilgrims gathered on a rugby pitch that “the church in Ireland is on the path to renewal. It will be a lengthy journey. It requires renewed and vigorous new evangelization, a renewal in faith and in coherent and authentic witness to that faith in the world and in the culture in which we live.

“The 50 years since the Second Vatican Council have brought many graces to the church in Ireland. The message and teaching of the council still constitute the blueprint for our renewal,” he said. However, he added that “those 50 years have also been marked with a darker side, of sinful and criminal abuse and neglect of those weakest in our society: children, who should have been the object of the greatest care and support and Christ-like love.

“We recall all those who suffered abuse and who still today bear the mark of that abuse and may well carry it with them for the rest of their lives. In a spirit of repentance, let us remember each of them in the silence of our hearts,” he said.

While the mood was decidedly upbeat and celebratory during the Mass, one point in the liturgy was designated to remember and seek forgiveness from those who had been abused by priests and religious.
Officials unveiled a “healing stone” engraved with a prayer originally used in the Liturgy of Lament celebrated in Dublin’s pro-cathedral in February 2011.

The prayer, which was sent to Archbishop Martin by a survivor of abuse, reads: “Lord, we are so sorry for what some of us did to your children: treated them so cruelly, especially, in their hour of need. We have left them with a lifelong suffering. This was not your plan for them or us. Please help us to help them. Guide us, Lord, Amen.”

Following consultation, including with abuse survivors, it was agreed the stone would be an appropriate symbol for the congress.

Father Kevin Doran, secretary-general of the congress, said: “Stone speaks of permanence. To say something is ‘carved in stone’ is to say that it is here to stay rather than just a passing thought. The stone represents the firm determination to work for healing and renewal.”

Musical performers included Ireland’s The Three Tenors and the Palestrina Choir, which sang at the open-air Mass in 1932, the last time the International Eucharistic Congress was held in Ireland.
Mary McConville, 91, attended the 1932 congress as a child and said she was delighted to attend the 2012 event.

“I remember the excitement of it when I was 11 years old as if it was yesterday,” she said.

“It is absolutely amazing to be here today.  I have as much faith in the church now as I ever had. This is a marvelous occasion,” she said.

Referring to the Irish missionary tradition, Cardinal Ouellet said that Ireland’s “strong history of faithfulness has enriched not only these shores, but has, through her missionary sons and daughters, helped to bring the Gospel to many far-distant shores.”

The former archbishop of Quebec said he knew from his own experience as host of the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress “that an event such as this brings many blessings to the local church and to all the participants.”

John Walsh, who traveled with his wife and five children to the congress from the west of Ireland, said it was “great for my children to see this beautiful celebration of faith and share their Catholicism with people from all over the world who have come to Dublin.”

Mary Ward of Dublin also noted the international attendance.

“We really are a global church, we can learn a lot from others,” she said.

Concelebrants at the Mass included Archbishop Martin, who serves as congress president; Archbishop Piero Marini, president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses; Cardinal Sean Brady, primate of All Ireland; Archbishop Robert Le Gall of Toulouse, France; Toronto Cardinal Thomas Collins; New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan; and U.S. Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.

IDUBLIN (CNS) – Ireland’s parliament rejected legislation that would have allowed a controversial 1992 Supreme Court ruling permitting abortion in limited circumstances to take effect.

The Socialist Party motion was defeated 111-20, April 19.

Following the 1992 court ruling – known as the X-case – abortion has been legal in circumstances where there is a substantial risk to the life of the mother.  However, successive governments have not enacted legislation to give effect to the ruling, and voters have rejected abortion legislation in a national referendum.

DUBLIN (CNS) ­– Ireland will close its Embassy to the Holy See in what has been described by officials as a cost-saving measure.

Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore said the move is not a result of a recent dispute between Ireland and the Vatican, which led Italian Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, papal nuncio to Ireland, to be temporarily called back to the Vatican in late July and later reassigned to the Czech Republic.

The Vatican had recalled Archbishop Leanza citing “certain extreme reactions” from politicians after the Vatican was criticized in a report regarding the mishandling of clerical abuse in the Irish Diocese of Cloyne.

In a statement issued late Nov. 3, the Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, downplayed the Irish government’s decision.

“The Holy See takes note of the decision of Ireland to close its embassy in Rome,” Father Lombardi said. “Naturally, every state that has diplomatic relations with the Holy See is free to decide … whether to have an ambassador to the Holy See who is resident in Rome or resident in another country. What is important is diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the states, and this is not in question with Ireland.”