Sinead McCoole, the Jackie Clarke Collection, and the Irish Embassy

Our neighbor upstairs asked if we would like to attend an event at the Irish Embassy. We received an authentic invitation over email and attended an illustrated lecture by Sinead McCoole about the Jackie Clarke Collection. We have been up and down Massachusetts Avenue many times, noting all the embassies along the way. But we had never been in one. Neither my husband nor I are that familiar with Irish history. But it appears this is a treasure trove of maps and many important documents that are a part of over a 100,000+ piece collection by Jackie Clarke, who was a very common man of sorts. We sat in a room on the second floor overlooking the Avenue, and stayed a few minutes after the lecture for a glass of wine. The weather was simply gorgeous as we walked back to our car that was parked three blocks away in front of Woodrow Wilson's house. The closest I got to this sort of environment was for the Milwaukee Civil War Round Table discussions held at the Wisconsin Club. Usually I liked the fact that I attended them to actually being there. The main difference between Milwaukee and DC was driving through rush hour to get there, watching a huge motorcade pass by for someone important, and the fact that we parked in front of Woodrow Wilson's house. Did I mention the construction?

The entrance

She has written a few books

The Irish Embassy is located on a roundabout
along Massachusetts Avenue

Sinead McCoole

 

The reception

Oscar Wilde

Irish Embassy

We see a lot of blue diplomat license plates in town