On March 30 astronaut Eileen Collins, the first of two women Navy test pilots, the first woman to pilot a space shuttle, and the first woman to command a mission, was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame, at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. Folk legend Judy Collins sang “Beyond the Sky,” the song that NASA had commissioned her to write for Eileen when she … [Read more...] about “Reach for the Stars”
Eileen Collins
Col. Eileen Collins’ Hall of Fame Speech
Wow, that was amazing! Thank you Patricia and Judy Collins wherever you are. Oh my gosh! That was just beautiful, wonderful! I‘ve always wanted to be a singer, but I could not sing so—maybe in another life –I decided to go fly. You know, this is really great-- to be here…Before… I‘ll just make about five minutes of comments, but before I do that, I do want to recognize again … [Read more...] about Col. Eileen Collins’ Hall of Fame Speech
Hall of Fame: Eileen Collins
In the 1950s and ’60s, as the industries that had helped populate and sustain upstate New York like railroading and manufacturing were leaving, the Harris Hill Gliderport in the lagging town of Elmira offered Eileen Collins a different kind of opportunity. She remembers her father taking her and her siblings to the airstrip just west of town to sit on the hood of their car with … [Read more...] about Hall of Fame: Eileen Collins
Weekly Comment:
Announcing the 2016
Irish America Hall of Fame
February 11, 2016
Irish America magazine will present President Bill Clinton with a Lifetime Achievement Award and induct astronaut Eileen Collins, General Martin Dempsey, Pete Hamill, Edward Kenney to Irish America Hall of Fame.
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President Bill Clinton will receive a Lifetime Achievement award from Irish America magazine March 30th, at the 2016 Irish America Hall of Fame and Special … [Read more...] about Weekly Comment:
Announcing the 2016
Irish America Hall of Fame
Eileen Collins
Eileen Collins doesn't harp. She doesn't fixate, but instead fixes. And though she may have high standards for herself and her work, she is not a believer in perfection. When asked about the influence of her parents on her career (her father, James, was a postal worker, strapped for cash, yet able to contribute to her Catholic school education), she'll respond calmly with "they … [Read more...] about Eileen Collins