For More Information
Contact:  Becky McClarran
301-724-2450
becky@mcclarranwilliams.com

CUMBERLAND CELEBRATES IRISH HERITAGE

Cumberland – March is Irish-American Heritage Month and Cumberland will be celebrating throughout the month beginning with the Hooley Plunge festival, March 5 – 6.

The Irish came to Maryland in droves from the 1830s through the Great Hunger of 1845 -1850.  As they entered Baltimore and other cities, they began looking for work.  Many of those Irish were hired by the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal where laborers were needed in the construction of the canal.

Groundbreaking for the canal occurred on July 4, 1828 near Georgetown.  The Canal Company placed advertisements for workers in Ireland’s newspapers offering wages from $8 – 12 per month. 

Irish immigrant laborers performed the majority of the work on the C&O Canal.  They excavated the canal prism with picks and shovels and quarried and cut stone for 74 locks and 11 aqueducts. The work was hard, the laborers mostly unskilled.  Thousands of Irish immigrants perished during the construction due to canal-related accidents and disease, primarily cholera.  The pay was low and the housing inferior.  After 22 years of labor, the canal officially opened from Georgetown to Cumberland on October 10, 1850.

Ironically, on the same day as the C&O Canal groundbreaking, a second groundbreaking occurred in Cumberland – that of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.  Countless Irish workers took part in the construction.  These laborers also faced difficult obstacles.  Laborers were paid $12 a month.  The poor wages of both the C&O Canal and then B&O Irish laborers created a new term, “Irish Wages.”

Cumberland will pay tribute to the Irish immigrants, their contributions and their heritage during the month of March beginning Friday, March 5. 

The Washington Street Library will present a program, “Explore Your Irish Heritage!” with certified genealogist Marsha L. Fuller, Regional PR Coordinator for Western Maryland Regional Library.  Both paper and online resources will be explored as ways to trace your Irish ancestors here and abroad.  The presentation will be held from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, call 301-777-1200.  The Allegany County Library System is celebrating its 50th anniversary (1960 -2010.)

The C&O National Park Service Visitor Center located in the Western Maryland Railway Station will be open from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.  The center/museum offers interactive exhibits related to boat building at the Cumberland boatyards, the Allegany County coal industry that shipped on the canal and the significance of Cumberland, Maryland as a transportation center.  It’s a great starting place to learn about the history of the C&O Canal and the people who lived and worked on the canal.

At 4:30 p.m. there will be a short dedicated to the Irish laborers who built both the canal and the railroad at the Celtic Cross monument on the Canal Place festival grounds.  Built by the local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the monument serves as a reminder of those Irish laborers who perished in the process.  Following the dedication there will be music and Irish libations in the concourse of the Western Maryland Railway Station.  Last year’s Hooley King Al Feldstein and Queen Erin Morrissey will reign over the event as their final act of their sovereignty.  The event will be held from 5 – 7 p.m. 

“The Canal Place Heritage Area is very aware of the importance of the Irish in building the canal and the railroad.  In fact, our community has a strong Irish background,” commented Renee Bone, Executive Director of the Canal Place Heritage Area.  “With the Hooley Plunge following on Saturday, we thought this was the appropriate time to recognize the Irish contribution.”  Kramer’s Deli, located in the concourse of the station will remain open for the event.

The two Downtown Cumberland hotels, the Holiday Inn and the Fairfield Inn and Suites are both offering special Hooley rates for the weekend.  For more information on the rates or to make reservations, call the Holiday Inn at 301-724-8800 and the Fairfield Inn at 301-722-0340.

The sixth annual Hooley Plunge will be held on Saturday, March 6 at Rocky Gap State Park.  Last year’s Plunge saw 525 participants jump in the waters of Lake Habeeb and raise over $90,000 for the Special Olympics of Allegany County and other local programs for the developmentally disabled.  “Every year we see more and more people coming out and either taking the Plunge or cheering on their friends and family,” commented Sean McCagh, Hooley Plunge founder.  “We’re very fortunate to have the support and hard work of the Alhambra Wamba Caravan #89 who coordinate the event, the staff and management of Rocky Gap State Park and really, the entire community.”  Registration kicks off at 10 a.m. and the Plunge takes place at 1 p.m.  As in the past five years, The Shanty Irish will perform.  Hannah of WFRB and Jim Van from GO106 radio stations will act as masters of ceremony.  For more information on the Plunge, visit online at www.hooleyplunge.com.

The 2nd annual Run for the Plunge adds a 15K (9.3 mile) to the 5K (3.1 mile) festivities this year.  Scheduled for Saturday, March 6 at Rocky Gap State Park, race day registration and packet pick-ups opens at 7:45 a.m. for the 15K start and 8:30a.m. for the 5K walk/run.  Sponsored by Mainheim Corporation – your Total Building Solution, the Run for the Plunge will also benefit the Special Olympics of Allegany County and other local programs for the developmentally disabled.  Registration forms are available at www.hooleyplunge or call 301-697-6035 for more information.

Sunday, March 7, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 201 N. Centre Street, will hold its annual pancake and sausage breakfast in the Paddy Shack, the parish social hall next to the church, from 9:30 a.m. –l2:30 p.m. 

Run for the Plunge 15K, 5K runs set for March 6

FLINTSTONE -- The Run for the Plunge 15K and 5K footraces are set for Saturday, March 6 at Rocky Gap State Park in eastern Allegany County.

It's the second year for the 5K road course, which runs from a central point in the park to the dam at Lake Habeeb and back, while the first-year 15K (9.3-mile) distance heads out of Rocky Gap State Park onto hilly, rural roads in a loop course before returning to the park.

Entry fee is only $10 for the 5K on or before March 5 and $12 for the 15K. On race day, entry fees are $15 and $17, respectively. Race-day registration and packet pick-up begins at 7 a.m. at the park, located off Interstate 68 about eight miles east of Cumberland. Entry fees include event T-shirts but quantity is limited for the event, which is possible only with the support of Pittsburgh-based Manheim Corporation.

The running events are staged in conjunction with the sixth annual Hooley Plunge, a traditional fundraising venture for Allegany County Special Olympics and other programs that aid the developmentally disabled in the area. More than 60 runners have already pre-registered for the event, which will be supported by nearly 30 able and willing helpers from the Volunteer Team.

For  more information, log on to www.mountainMDmarathon.org or call (301) 697-6035. For more information on the Hooley Plunge, visit www.hooleyplunge.com.

Superintendent to Participate in Hooley Plunge

BOARD OF EDUCATION OF ALLEGANY COUNTY
NEWS RELEASE

For Further Information Contact: 
Mia Perlozzo Cross, Public Relations Specialist
Phone: 301-759-2092
Fax:  301-759-2039
Email:  Mia.Cross@acps.k12.md.us  

*Release Date:  Immediately

Superintendent of Schools to “Take the Plunge” on Saturday
Dr. David Cox Lends His Support by Participating in Annual Hooley Plunge

Dr. David Cox, superintendent of Allegany County Public Schools, plans to participate in the 2010 Hooley Plunge on Saturday, March 6, 2010, at Rocky Gap in support of the Allegany County Special Olympics and the local developmentally disabled.  Last year’s plunge raised more than $90,000, which was used to fund the Special Olympics, Boy Scout Troop 89, YMCA Camp Bright Star, and numerous ACPS SLE programs.  This year’s plunge hopes to exceed $100,000. 

A number of teachers, coaches, and student groups in the ACPS system have participated in the Hooley Plunge each year, and this year is no different.  Cheerleaders, football, soccer, and baseball players, mock trial and National Honor Society members, student government groups and more will join the superintendent in the icy waters of Lake Habeeb to help raise money for Allegany County programs for developmentally disabled individuals. 

According to Hooley Plunge chairman, Sean McCagh, “We have had tremendous support from the teachers, coaches, and students every year.  And it continues to grow.  I am personally thrilled that Dr. Cox is proving that good leadership starts from the top down.”  He went on to say, “ACPS students made up the vast majority of plungers at last year’s event.”

The superintendent is excited to participate in his first plunge.  “I am looking forward to joining our ACPS students and staff members for such a great cause that so directly benefits our kids in SLE programs.  The water will be cold, but our hearts will most certainly be warm.”  Of the more than $90,000 raised last year, $20,000 was allocated to the public school system’s SLE programs to fund computers, instructional supplies and equipment, and fieldtrips at nine different schools.