DAN DONNELLY’S MUMMIFIED ARM RETURNS TO IRELAND WITH JIM HOULIHAN’S FIGHTING IRISHMEN BOXING EXHIBIT
***The Moon & Sixpense to perform October 17 and 18 at Benefit for Irish Arts Center***

New York, October 9—Irish champion boxer Dan Donnelly’s mummified arm, the highlight of Jim Houlihan’s touring Fighting Irishmen eclectic art exhibit on Irish boxing the past four years, has come full circle. After stops at the Irish Arts Center, The South Street Seaport and Burns Library at Boston College on the Eastern shores of America, the most famous petrified limb in history is returning to its homeland for an exhibit at Ulster American Folk Park in Tyrone County, just outside of Omagh, Northern Ireland, scheduled to begin next spring through November 2009.

But the story doesn’t end there. The Moon & Sixpense, whose founding member Des Byrne passed away tragically from cancer, will make its United States debut at the Irish Arts Cent er, 553 West 51st Street, in a benefit on Friday, October 17, and Saturday, October 18. Des and his wife Josephine are owners of the Donnelly arm, which has been prominently displayed in the Fighting Irishmen exhibit. This will be the debut performance for The Moon & Sixpence in the United States. All proceeds will go to benefit the Irish Arts Center in New York. It was Des’s dream for The Moon & Sixpence to perform in New York and for Dan Donnelly’s arm to travel from Ireland to the United States. These concerts are a fulfillment of his dream and are dedicated to him. Henry Donohoe, the chief pilot for Aer Lingus who first flew the arm over to the United States for Houlihan on behalf of its rightful owners, will now be using both his arms on the keyboards at the benefit. Tickets are limited and priced at $75.

The Moon & Sixpence have performed concerts exclusively for charities for approximately 12 years in Ireland. These concerts will benefit the Irish Arts Center. All proceeds from the event will go to the Irish Arts Center.

The doors of the Irish Arts Center will open promptly at 7 pm on both nights. Included in the price of admission will be a beer and wine reception as well as a private showing of the landmark photo exhibit by world famous photographer John Minihan. The Minihan exhibit was commissioned by the Irish government and features senior citizens who have moved to the United States from Ireland. The exhibit is called “To Love Two Countries”. The concert will then start promptly at 8 pm.

Aattendance is strictly limited to 99 tickets each evening. All tickets will be retrieved at the box office window upon arrival. Located in the heart of Manhattan’s historic “Hell’s Kitchen” neighborhood, the Irish Arts Center is the largest and most inclusive Irish cultural organization in the United States, with more than 35,000 people of all ages and ethnicities participating directly in our programs every year.

One of New York’s most treasured spaces to see exciting live music, cutting-edge theatre, and exclusive films, our rich history of performance includes the early careers of Oscar-nominated filmmakers Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot) and Terry George (Hotel Rwanda), who met and began their successful careers at the Center with The Tunnel, Terry’s playwriting debut, in 1984.

The Center is also home to stimulating exhibitions that tell the story of Ireland and Irish America, including Fighting Irishmen, a tribute to Irish boxers developed at the Center, currently on tour at Boston College, and our latest commission, To Love Two Countries, a photographic celebration of Ireland’s greatest generation by John Minihan. Our gallery has also housed some of Ireland and America’s top established and emerging artists, including Michelle Rogers, Eamonn O’Doherty, and Robert Ballagh.

Our dynamic education programs bring the very best of Irish culture to New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds, with more than twenty classes per week in Irish music, dance, language and history – while our children’s programs in Irish language and music, Gaelic Kids and Keltic Kids, preserve our culture for the next generation.