April 2026 QIA Newsletter

Welcome to the April Queensland Irish Association Newsletter. This Newsletter was emailed to our Members in early April. If you’d like to receive QIA Newsletters straight to your inbox so you’re ahead of the news, sign up as a Member for just $20 per year. In this edition: It’s packed with news and photos from a very busy Saint Patrick’s season, as well as details of exciting upcoming events. We look at Easter celebrations in Ireland, and we have entertainment news and an update from our friends at Irish Film Festival Australia. We also tell you about this year’s Easter 1916 Commemoration in Nudgee Cemetery. …

Time to return serve: Jeff Spender set for farewell roast at City Hall

After years of giving others a good-natured ribbing, former Queensland Irish Association president Jeff Spender is about to find himself firmly in the firing line. The Queensland Irish Association is inviting members and friends to a special farewell luncheon and roast in honour of Jeff’s retirement, with an afternoon of laughs, tall tales and affectionate leg-pulling planned at Brisbane City Hall.…

Author Al Finegan to reveal story of forgotten Irish explorer

Author Al Finegan. Meet Alan ‘Al’ Finegan, the author of The Forgotten Explorer, who will present a talk on the remarkable but often overlooked castaway and convict explorer John Finnegan. Al’s research re-examines the life and legacy of this early figure in the history of Moreton Bay and the discovery of the Brisbane River.…

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