State Senator James H. Donovan - "An Irishman For All Seasons"

During the month of August, The Irish Cultural Center of the Mohawk Valley will feature an exhibit on the life and times of the late state Senator James H. Donovan, who died while serving in office in 1990, and achieved the distinction of Oneida County’s longest serving state senator and the author of more than four hundred state laws.

The exhibit will trace the genealogy of the Donovan family, who emigrated to the United States from County Cork, Ireland in the 1830s, covering the history of Donovan’s years as a young man growing up in Holland Patent and later west Utica; his military service in WWII as a Marine fighting in the South Pacific and his return home to start a successful roofing business and nearly 40 years of elected public service. He won thirteen races for the state Senate, serving from 1966-1990. Gannett News Service described him as a man who “…has the ingredients to make a great legislator - courage.”

During his career, he was the recipient of hundreds of awards from organizations across New York State. Local buildings and facilities named in his memory include the Senator James H. Donovan Middle School in Utica, Donovan Stadium at Murnane Field and the James H. Donovan Science & Technology Building at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy.

The exhibit kicks off at 4 p.m. on August 6th, with a presentation by Sen. Donovan’s son, Jerome Donovan, followed by a reception from 5-7 p.m. To assure adequate seating, we urge you to register online at https://bit.ly/3GnpGFd or call and leave a message at (315) 733-4228, Ext 6.

You may also like the following events from Irish Cultural Center of the Mohawk Valley:

• This month, 13th August, 11:00 am, Lunch & Learn - KILTS AND KILTMAKING: A PEEK INSIDE THE TRADITION AND THE CRAFT in Utica
• This month, 14th August, 09:30 am, The Great American Irish Scramble in Frankfort

Also check out other Sports events in Utica, Arts events in Utica, Literary Art events in Utica.