'Proud to be Irish' was originally the 'brainchild' of professional Irish singer Eamonn McGirr. My dad and mom are both originally from the troubled north of Ireland - Derry, and I was also born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a family, we moved to America when I was five-and-a-half and settled in Rhode Island in March of 1984.Roughly about two or three months after we arived, dad was approached to do an Irish radio program out of Woonsocket, Rhode Island and he happily jumped at the chance. That was how 'Proud to be Irish' was born! A mixture of Irish politics, interviews, comedy and the best in Irish music was broadcast every Sunday for two hours. How well I remember doing my homework in the waiting room of the studio! :)
About seven years later, in December of 1991, we moved to Albany, New York. I had just turned 13 that June and had been doing 'guest spots' on the radio since I was 12. In March of 1992, (15 March 1992) the Sunday of St. Patrick's week, dad was to begin a reinstated version of 'Proud to be Irish' from Siena College in Albany, New York. 88.3 FM WVCR. He had become sick with laryngitis that Sunday and was home in bed when he received a frantic phone call from the station: "Help, please! The show is three hours and I only have one Chieftains CD to play!"
Dad rallied himself out of bed and rushed to the station with a more varied selection of CDs and that was how it all began. :)
Hosted by Mary and Mareena in honor of Eamonn McGirr every Sunday from Noon until 3 pm EST on WVCR 88.3 FM from Siena College. 'Proud to be Irish' is now streaming live over the Internet all over the world! Log onto http://www.wvcr.com and click on 'Listen Live'. 