The Eire Society of Boston will host a talk by Maine political journalist, Doug Rooks on Sunday, 16 October at 2pm at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center, 1276 Main Street in Concord, MA. The event is free and open to the public.

Rooks will share his perspective on the public and private life of Senator George Mitchell. He will draw from a long career of interviews with the senator, and delve into Mitchell's role in facilitating the Northern Ireland Peace Accord, which culminated in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Rooks will offer keen insight into Mitchell’s background and upbringing, which ultimately helped to achieve the seemingly unattainable peace accord. Copies of Rook’s book, *Statesman: George Mitchell and the Art of the Possible*, will be available for sale.

*More on the Eire Society of Boston:*

The Eire Society of Boston, founded in 1937, is among Boston's oldest Irish
organizations. Through its programs and events, the ESB promotes knowledge
of Irish culture and supports scholarship in the arts, sciences,
literature, language and history of Ireland.

For general information on ESB programs and events, email Barbara
Fitzgerald, ESB Corresponding Secretary at barbara.s.fitzgerald@gmail.com
. To become a member of the Eire Society of
Boston, visit the website http://www.eiresociety.org/membership/ or email
Mary Ellen Mulligan, Membership Secretary, at membership@eiresociety.org.

The annual Gold Medal Dinner and Award Ceremony will take place on
Saturday, 29 April 2017 at 6pm at the Hyatt Regency Boston, Avenue de
Lafayette. The Gold Medal award recipient for 2017 is novelist, short story
writer, playwright, journalist and literary critic, Colm Tòibìn. The Gold
Medal is given to a person or persons who exemplify the best of Irish
culture and ideals. The award is presented at the annual Gold Medal Dinner,
which takes place in spring in Boston.

For more information on the Gold Medal Dinner and Award Ceremony, or to be
placed on the mailing list to receive an invitation, contact Cathleen
McGrail, Event Chair, at events@eiresociety.org or call 617.739.6484.

*More on Doug Rooks:*

Douglas Rooks is a career journalist who worked at weekly and daily
newspapers for 25 years. He was the editor of the Granite State News in
Wolfeboro, N.H., editorial page editor for the Kennebec Journal in Augusta,
Maine, and editor and publisher of Maine Times. Now a freelance editor,
writer and author, he covers Maine state government, specializing in
environmental issues, public education, municipal affairs, business and tax
policy. He currently writes an op-ed column for several daily newspapers.
His writing has earned awards from the National Newspaper Association and
New England Press Association, and he has been named best opinion columnist
three times by the Maine Press Association. Rooks is a graduate magna cum
laude of Colby College, and a former board president of the Unitarian
Universalist Community Church in Augusta. He lives, with his wife, in a
210-year-old farmhouse in West Gardiner.