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90_HR0683
LRB9012828KBkb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to extend their sincere sympathy to the
4 family and friends of Tommie Ryan, who recently passed away;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, Thomas F. "Tommie" Ryan was born in County
7 Limerick, Ireland on April 15, 1901; he was raised in the
8 Castleconnell farming area of East Limerick; he learned to
9 play the fiddle by the age of 9, and while attending the
10 Christian Brothers school in Limerick City he learned the
11 flute and tin whistle; Mr. Ryan also learned the Gaelic war
12 pipes; and
13 WHEREAS, Thomas Ryan fought with the Mid-Limerick Brigade
14 of the old I.R.A. in the Black and Tan War; after spending
15 fourteen months in the British Curragh Concentration Camp
16 during the Irish Civil War, Thomas fled Ireland; on Labor Day
17 in 1923 he landed on Ellis Island; on his trip to America he
18 earned over $3000 playing his violin; he moved on to Chicago
19 and was hired by the Chicago Surface Lines as a conductor;
20 and
21 WHEREAS, Thomas Ryan formed the Shannon Rovers in 1926;
22 in 1928 they played for Democratic presidential candidate Al
23 Smith; in 1932, at the height of the Depression, the band
24 raised enough funds to attend the Eucharistic Congress in
25 Dublin, but had to pass the hat to raise money for their
26 return fare; the band played for President Franklin Delano
27 Roosevelt in 1939 and played at many graveside services
28 during World War II; and
29 WHEREAS, Mr. Ryan helped to found the Chicago St.
30 Patrick's Day parade in 1952; playing their trademark tune
31 "Garryowen", the band has led all the parades; the band was
32 the named the official band of Chicago by Mayor Richard J.
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1 Daley; they played for John F. Kennedy when he was a
2 presidential candidate in 1960, and played for him when he
3 returned as president; they later played at Arlington Nation
4 Cemetery for President Kennedy's funeral; and
5 WHEREAS, Mr. Ryan opened Tommie Ryan's Tavern on
6 Chicago's West Side in 1943; he also was employed as a
7 builder, bus driver, state highway supervisor, park district
8 employee, and as a stationary engineer with the Water
9 Reclamation District; and
10 WHEREAS, Mr. Ryan helped establish the Irish-American
11 Heritage Center on Knox Avenue in Chicago; he supported
12 Gaelic Park in Tinley Park; he started Irish Family Day in
13 Chicago in 1977; he helped to raise $50,000 for the
14 restoration of Glenstal Abbey in Limerick, Ireland; Tommie
15 Ryan remained active in music, traveled back to Ireland
16 several times, and cared about the reunification of his
17 native country; and
18 WHEREAS, Tommie Ryan helped in founding the St. Patrick's
19 Day parade in Sydney, Australia; he led the Shannon Rovers in
20 the Sydney parade in 1981, and then he and the band crossed
21 the International Date Line to play in the Chicago parade on
22 the same day; on St. Patrick's Day in 1992, Tommie Ryan was
23 honored by the Chicago parade and received the Humanitarian
24 Award from the Irish Fellowship Club; and
25 WHEREAS, Tommie Ryan is survived by his children, Thomas
26 F. Ryan, John M. Ryan and his wife, Pepita, Jeremiah Ryan and
27 his wife, Anne, Edward E. Ryan and his wife, Maria, Sheila A.
28 Wisniewski and her husband, Paul, Marie C. Auer and her
29 husband, Robert, and Robert E. Ryan and his wife, Margaret;
30 his twenty-one grandchildren; and his twenty
31 great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
32 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
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1 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
2 mourn, along with his family and friends, the death of Thomas
3 F. "Tommie" Ryan of Chicago, Illinois; and be it further
4 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5 presented to the family of Tommie Ryan.