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Jakarta Post

St. Patrick's Society Jakarta marks Irish holiday with charity ball

Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, March 20, 2018

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St. Patrick's Society Jakarta marks Irish holiday with charity ball Erin Go Bragh!: Representatives of St. Patrick's Society Jakarta present a token of appreciation to Ambassador of Ireland to Indonesia H.E. Kyle O'Sullivan (center) for his service to the Irish community in Indonesia for the past three years. (3 Colors Group/St Patrick's Society/File)

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t. Patrick's Day falls each year on March 17 and is an annual celebration that is not to be missed, even 12,000 kilometers away in Indonesia. Ireland's national day was marked in the capital city with a lavish gala and charity event hosted by St. Patrick's Society Jakarta.

The 40-year-old community organization, with branches in Jakarta and Bali, has held a charity ball in the Indonesian capital since 1986 to commemorate the famous cultural and religious celebration.

This year was the society's biggest ball yet, with 600 guests attending the on March 10 charity event.

Irish Ambassador to Indonesia Kyle O'Sullivan, who was among the evening's special guests, said the event was an opportunity to share the Irish culture with the public, as anyone could join the celebrations.

"From an Irish point of view, we don't deal so much in military strength or political hard power. We're a soft power country. Our culture and our people are kind of what we do abroad," O'Sullivan said. 

"We like to have events that bring our music, our dancing, our culture; that's where we feel we do our best, so we try and show it off," he added.

Read also: Tales of three cities in Ireland

Around 250 Irish nationals reside in Indonesia, the ambassador noted, of which 100 live in Jakarta. 

The ball brought together the Irish community in Indonesia, including Irish-Indonesian descendants as well as Australians and Americans of Irish heritage. 

O'Sullivan added that the gala event also aimed to give back to society, and St. Patrick's Society Jakarta had established close ties with children's charities across the archipelago over the past four decades. 

"We support six organizations; they're all local Indonesian charities," said St. Patrick's Society Jakarta president Miranda Hough. 

Representatives from the charities also participated in the event, such as a musical performance by the children from Rawinala, a foundation that focuses on children with multiple disabilities and vision impairment.

Other charities involved in this year's ball included Yayasan Goodwill International, Rumah Harapan (House of Hope), Yayasan Sosial Bina Sejahtera, the XS Project and the Rachel House Foundation.

The society holds monthly gatherings throughout the year as part of its efforts to raise funds to support other charitable organizations. (kes)

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