Episode 2.25 (Gerry Quinn): Promoting the "Green and Red" of Mayo in Cleveland OH

In season two of the "Finding Home" podcast series, Irish American Archives Society Executive Director Margaret Lynch interviews an array of Clevelanders with specialized knowledge and stories about the history of the Irish in Cleveland. This episode features an interview with Gerry Quinn. Gerry Quinn was born in Garracloon, a village south of Ballina in County Mayo. His schoolteacher father instilled Gerry's lifelong love of Irish poetry and culture. When Gerry finished school in 1960, his prospects for work were slim and he immigrated to the US. Relatives in Cleveland helped him find work as a steamfitter, while dances at the West Side Irish American Club helped ease the transition. After settling in with work and family, Gerry helped to found the Irish American Club East Side in 1978 and served as the club's first president. Not long after, he began to host a weekly Irish radio show, which he's faithfully done for more than 40 years. In 2004, he revived Cleveland's Mayo Society to promote economic, educational, and cultural exchanges between Cleveland and County Mayo.