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OFFALY certainly took a jaunt down the road less travelled when they appointed a Limerick man as their minor hurling manager but it has yielded rich dividends and is now leading them back towards salvation.

Appointing an outside manager for a minor team was a big step for Offaly. Prior to him taking charge in 2020, it was something that simply didn't happen and while there was no rule about it, the policy in Offaly was to appoint local managers Declan McGovern, a Kildare resident, had served as Offaly minor football manager in the late 2000s but he was a native of Kilcormac.

The appointment of Leo O'Connor as Offaly minor hurling manager in 2020 was new territory for Offaly but it is reaping very big dividends. He was familiar with Offaly hurling as he had come on as a sub during the famous 1994 All-Ireland senior hurling final ironically O'Connor had scored Limerick's finl point in that never to be forgotten decider. That put Limerick five points up and they looked home and dry but a few minutes later when the final whistle blew, Offaly were ahead by six.

It was one of the great hurling finals and it was a defining moment in the life of all that Limerick team, including O'Connor. It is now very ironic that he is now at the fulcrum of Offaly's bid to become a force again. After 2000, Offaly hurling fell off the radar as they went back to the third tier, the Christy Ring Cup while Limerick have been the dominant force of the modern era, a powerful juggernaut who just take the breath away with their hurling and physicality.

O'Connor played a key role in the development of Limerick hurling. He has managed Limerick county teams at every level up to U-21, guiding them to the Munster U-21 title in 2011 and his work with the Limerick development squad system has helped put the foundations in place for their recent success story

Now as Offaly minor hurling manager, he is playing a key role in the development of young players once again. Under his watch, Offaly have had a sensational 2022, winning the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship title for the first time since 2000 and reaching the All-Ireland final for the first time since 1989, when they won their third championship.

He had initially come into Offaly as a coach under Shinrone's Declan Loughnane in 2019. O'Connor had spoken to Offaly GAA chairman Tommy Byrne and Coaching Officer, Martin Cashen about getting involved as well as Declan Loughnane. He had initially worked with Declan in Sligo, introduced through a mutual friend, Christy Phillips and the opportunity to get involved in Offaly intrigued him.

Wexford beat Offaly in 2019 on a day when they hurled well but lost out to a late goal. A team that could have gone on and achieved a lot more that particular year. We had a few injuries going into that game as well, he recalled last week.

In 2020, Offaly got to the Leinster final but it was not played until 2021 because of Covid and a couple of weeks after that defeat by Kilkenny, they were put out by the same side in the 2021 championship in Nowlan Park. It has been a roller coaster year for O'Connor and Offaly the 2020 Leinster final was played on July 4 2021 and now the All-Ireland minor final is on almost exactly a year later, July 3.

Suddenly you are going into an All-Ireland final all in the space of 12 months. It has been a very busy year. A lot of these lads on this minor team, we brought them all in last year and we did an awful lot of work with them, strength and conditioning. Seven of them started last year below in Kilkenny and we finished up with nine or ten of them on the field. Certainly Colm Doyle would have been part of it but he broke his collar bone against Clare in a challenge match, so from that point of view it has been a busy 12 months, but that's how we ended up here - three years in one year!

O'Connor is now living in Tipperary and this adds another edge to Sunday's final. He was a member of the Claughaun club in Limerick, winning a Senior Hurling Championship medal with them as a young lad in 1986, alongside one of their iconic figures, Eamon Cregan, the Offaly manager in 1994.

When you came in were you aware that this year's bunch were particularly talented?

The day they were in the Tony Forrestal I was in Wexford with Martin Cashen with the under 16 team and we stopped by on the way home and saw the Forrestal and you could see there was huge potential in it. They were probably the first Offaly team after a number of years to get into a final. Covid, I think, has levelled the playing field in a lot of ways, - it was a matter in being clever in how you used your players, getting your strength and conditioning into them, that was a major levelling off of the playing field. It proves that when you put in the work like we have done in Offaly over the last two to three years, you can compete at a very high level and hence we are in an All-Ireland minor hurling final.

Offaly changed their backroom team this year with Hughie Hannon, Johnny Pilkington and Martin Cashen replacing Leonard Deane, Ray Cordial and Alan Corboy. Tell us about that?

It wasn't anything major to be quite honest. It happens the whole time in Limerick, my own county, you need to get fellows' experience. I will be very straight, I think ex-inter county hurlers I'm not saying they are the end-all and be-all but I think you certainly need to get that one on one situation. Like Johnny is doing this year. The amount of experience a guy like Johnny Pilkington has, the amount of experience that is in Offaly from the 80s and 90s up to the early noughties is huge and that needs to be transferred to the younger generation and how they do it is the most important thing. Johnny as we all know is a character. He comes in does his one on one, reads situations, reads tactics differently, comes in and comes over to me on the sideline, has a word in my ear. My early morning alarm clock between 7.30-7.40am is Johnny Pilkington ringing me, saying would we try this, would we try that. It is a learning process for us all. Every day is a school day and that is the most important thing.

Coming from Limerick, the poster boy of underage level, with greater resources than Offaly, is it sustainable for Offaly?

I would be very disappointed if it doesn't sustain. Look at what we are in. Four fields, absolutely perfect. This is just a training ground. You have O'Connor Park, you have Birr. If this is not sustainable the way it works in Limerick is from 8am on Saturday morning until 1pm, each development squad comes in for an hour and a half and there is a half hour overlap and coming towards tournament time in July and August they come on Wednesday night for eight weeks before it. That's not major resources. Offaly have this ready made already. It is self contained, you have your gym, you have your ball wall, you have your training fields, you have your astro turf there, everything is self contained here so it is a matter of organising this and putting the right structures in place and making sure the right people are involved in the underage teams coming up, under 14, 15 16 and when they get to minor level. Michael has come in and has done an absolutely fabulous job in where we are.

There are other success stories around Offaly in the last few years. Birr got to an All-Ireland B colleges final that wasn't played because of Covid, that is only a year and a half ago, there are a lot of other success stories around. The under 20 footballers last year, that is huge and certainly this on top of it, getting to an All-Ireland minor final is another major plus within the county.

What is your opinion on the Nowlan Park venue?

Some people consider it the home of hurling. Personally from what I am hearing, the ticket situation has gone really, really well. I think they were worried that Portlaoise would hold the crowd and it has been a major plus for the Leinster Council letting in the Under 16s free and that builds up the crowd. Capacity of 27,000 in Kilkenny and the crowd is so close, I mean who doesn't want to be in a Portlaoise situation again. I mean that night was spectacular for Offaly and the GAA as well. I saw an aerial shot of the ground taken from a drone and you could see the ground full for a Leinster Minor Hurling Championship.

How do you feel about the decoupling of senior and minor?

I was lucky enough to be in a situation where I won an All-Ireland minor medal in Centenary Year below in Thurles and it didn't do me any harm. It is just one of those things where I suppose with the modern era, where things are looked at slightly differently to back then, but in my history, I was born and reared in a GAA family with a Dad who refereed three All-Irelands and I was always there, All-Ireland final day, the minor final was as Gaeilge and the senior final in English.

It became synonymous with the whole scenario. Child protection has a lot to do with it coming along the line, people feel it is putting too much pressure on kids and the minor age coming down a year damned if you do and damned if you don't. It's a difficult one for me personally, I would love to see it played with the All-Ireland senior final. But then, if you have what you had this year with the Leinster Minor Hurling final where are the Offaly people going to get tickets for it?

What puts more pressure on young lads, playing in a packed Nowlan Park or in Croke Park with 70-80% of it empty?

It's not one that we are going to answer. The GAA have obvious reasons for doing what they are doing, all I care about is that we are there that Offaly are in an All-Ireland minor hurling final. It's a fabulous occasion for everyone in the county and I hope everyone gets behind them. Some of them are still 15 years of age. Seven of them finished their Junior Cert last Friday. If it was under 18 some of them might be doing their Leaving Cert, so it is six of one half a dozen of the other.

What did you think of the Tipp v Galway semi-final?

It was a very open game of hurling. Tipp moved the ball well. I thought they were two very good hurling teams. Galway will be disappointed with some of things that happened in the game but minor has really become a development age. From that point of view Galway will be disappointed. We played them recently, we played Tipp very early in the year and we just got over the line. That was last February in Shinrone, so you can't read anything into it.

When you got the team together last December what would you have been saying that a Leinster title was a possibility.

We just met in early December and gave them their programmes. They had these facilities to come and use them when they wanted to. In early January we got them out on the field and if you look back on our history over the last three or four years, there is massive potential within the county and this team having got to a Forrestal final, it was a major step forward. They are a very dedicated, level headed bunch and nothing seems to faze them.

The likes of Portlaoise was unique for the Leinster minor final, none of them would have had the chance to play in anything like that, how did they handle it and how are they handling all that has gone on since?

It happens everywhere and it is up to us to protect them. We are in constant contact with their parents and we manage the situation. Every day is a new day. Parents are in constant contact with me. Keeping them grounded, doing what they normally do at home. We were a little disappointed after the Leinster final with the amount of cramping we had, so we have had nutritionists in and that worked really, really well. Last Friday night no player cramped, which is a credit to Colin Kenny. They are small things but it all comes in to a bigger package.

There was a big difference Portlaoise and the quarter-final against Antrim only three or four weeks previously?

I think that was one of the turning point for the lads this year. That was an Antrim team that was fancied and we put them away fairly comprehensively. That was the day that I asked them could we go to the next level and step up and certainly it happened. I think there is another gear in us. This team, we do play with sweepers at times when necessary, depending on what game plan we have, but it is certainly taking the shackles off them and let them go out and express themselves, go short, play long and we have players all over the field to accommodate that.

What impact did 1994 have on you?

That experience alone, when you are driving down from here at night time and you think of all the things that happened in your career, there are poignant moments in people's lives, and one of the things I probably learned more out of is being beaten in it than if we had won it because with five minutes up we were five points up and I remember it. Gary Kirby was taking a free and Joe Errity was right beside me up at the post and I just looked around and said to the umpire what's left and he said five minutes and probably four and a half minutes from the puck out and eight minutes later Offaly had scored 2-5. The big black hole opened up, Limerick fell into it, Offaly avoided it and everything they seemed to touch . . . . I remember talking to Billy Dooley the following day and he was coming out with Eamon Cregan, a club mate I won a county championship with Eamon Cregan in 1986, ironically as an 18 year old - I remember talking to Eamon and Derry O'Donovan, another Claughaun man who trained Offaly that year, these things happen for a reason. When I look back at the 1981 Offaly team when they turned over Galway, when Pat Delaney went up and caught that ball and popped it, Johnny Flaherty sticks the ball in the back of the net, these things happen in sport, that's why we're all involved in sport.

There is rivalry between Offaly and Tipperary. Johnny Pilkington would have played in the 1987 All-Ireland minor final, is there anything there that you can tap into?

There is always something you can tap into. If you go around this country, the big three traditionally have been Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary. I live in Tipperary, so I see the traditions they have and how proud they are. They are things we use in the dressing room to drive these lads on to get them over the line. That is part and parcel of it. We are up against one of the big three, I don't know how many All-Ireland minor hurling titles Tipp have, nor do I care, because on Sunday it is going to be us against them and it is going to boil down to 60 minutes of hurling.

Are you as ready as you have ever been?

We have always said, we go game by game by game. Every day is a school day. We have learned as we have gone on. You mentioned about the Antrim thing, that was a major turning curve for us that day in terms of how we handled the situation. It wasn't the greatest field in the world, the grass certainly wasn't cut as we wanted, particularly compared to what we played on in Portlaoise and Thurles, it was a different kettle of fish completely, but these are things that we deal with. These guys don't let it faze them, we take on responsibility and we work for each other.

You were nervous before the Antrim game?

That was the one that I knew if we get over that, we are turning the corner, we are heading for home. That really was the big one.

How much did the Clare game bring you on?

Certainly going four points to nil down was due to the four and a half week break. It doesn't help. Realistically two to three week break is the best scenario, let the players recuperate their bodies. Last Saturday we were all back in the recovery room here and just getting the bodies back right, back training on Monday night and Thursday night and we will look after it from here on in.

Most of Limerick players came through the development squad system, do you envisage some of these Offaly players being involved in a big senior game in Croke Park against them at some point in the future?

Absolutely. In four or five years time, there are a lot of these guys going to be competing against a Limerick team and I have no doubts about that, 100% certain. The potential is there. It is how it is transferred from this level to the next level. Steps of the stairs. I think it is of major importance for the County Board how it is handled over the next three to four years because the potential is there. The strength and conditioning has gone into them. Certainly under my watch in the last three to four years, strength and conditioning has gone into them. You look at Cormac Egan, other than the unfortunate injury, I have no doubt, whether he would be starting on a senior Offaly football, but certainly being introduced and getting an education. The Limerick thing didn't happen overnight and I will categorically say it took 10 years for Limerick to get to where they are. Don't be under any illusions. In 2011 I was manager of the Limerick team that won the under 21, in 2013 they won a Munster senior hurling title. From there on in it gradually started to build. It is how it is managed and how it is phased through.

Is there enough talent to sustain this for Offaly?

There is enough talent around. There is enough hurlers to get them through the system, work them through the phases and get the strength and conditioning in. The strength and conditioning is vitallly important. Everyone talks about the physique of Limerick and I saw the Kilkenny under 20 team beat Limerick in the All-Ireland final this year and the physique of that Kilkenny team. Ironically 11 of them played in the 2020 Leinster minor final only 12 months ago. You see the way Kilkenny are able to do it, so why can't Offaly do it. I think the right process is in place now. I think it is a matter now of exploiting every opportunity that we get.

Offaly need to take credit for what has been achieved as a county. The only way this county can go from where it is now, just take those three teams - say you get three off the 2020 team, three off last year's team, you probably got 4-5 of this year's team, there's the bones of an under 20 team for the next few years, one that would be very well able to compete, one with putting the right process in place, getting the right games, competing at the highest level. That's the one thing we did this year, we have taken this minor team on a tour of Ireland. We have played, the Corks, Tipps, Limericks, we have played them all and we have gained experience.

Are you confident about Offaly?

Within ourselves, if we do the things right the way we wanted to do them and we get our own situation and our own house in order, I think this Offaly team has a lot to bring forward.

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The Limerick maestro at the furnace of Offaly's road towards hurling salvation - Limerick Live

Folks, lots of cool local stuff to talk about this week, so lets get right into it! This year the Catskills Irish Arts Week is back and running at full strength. The dates are July 10-16 and with a program as incredible as the one theyve put together theres a lot to look forward to.

It all starts with the folks on board and CIAWs organizers have taken pains to build a great staff there are over 40 instructors but whats even more noteworthy is the large number of notables theyre bringing over from Ireland. The folks traveling here include Clare Friel, fiddle; Danny OMahony, button accordion; Brenda Castles & Liam OBrien, concertina; Tara Howley, uilleann pipes; Michael Rooney & Seamus OFlaherty, harp; Mchel Mille, Irish language; Deirdre Cronin, creative writing; Caoimhe Flaherty, Irish singing; and Pdraig McEneany, set dancing. The US-based staff (which space prevents me from including here) is similarly top tier and includes a number of luminaries, among them Comhaltas Hall of Fame members, several All-Ireland champions, and even a couple of National Heritage Fellows.

Sign up today to get daily, up-to-date news and views from Irish America.

And remember: heading up to East Durham just for the hang is great craic, but the real experience is to be found in participating in the Festival itself by taking part in the workshops, and going to the lectures, concerts, and sessions. Its this sort of participation that will ensure CIAW remains an ongoing concern!

Enrollment is open, its definitely a good idea to check it out this year! For more information about the staff, schedule, signing up, and places to stay, visit http://www.catskillsirishartsweek.com.

In other news, on June 19 thats this Sunday the Rambling House in Woodlawn will host a fundraiser in its Party Room from 12:00-3:30 p.m. for the young local musicians who will be traveling to compete in the Fleadh Cheoil na hireann in Mullingar, July 31-August 7. The Sarah Lynch Cil Band, the Martin OGrady Cil Band & Grupai Cheoil will be there, as will Mickey Coleman, the Flynn Irish Dancers, and more. Should be a great time!

On June 29, the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) in Dublin will launch what theyre calling a major digital exhibition of Irish traditional music relating to New York. The online exhibit will feature rare recordings, stories, photos, and videos that document New York Citys rich Irish traditional music heritage.

I have not been made privy to the complete contents of the exhibition, but Ive seen a couple things that have made me say wow! and the people Ive talked to who have worked on the project have expressed a sense of great excitement. I think this exhibition is really, really something to look forward to and be very excited about. Visit itma.ie for more information (and perhaps sign up to their mailing list, theyre launching very cool new things all the time and youll be in the loop when the NYC exhibition launches).

Finally: a little while back now I ran into Gregory Grene and he handed me a copy of Belturbet Town, the new album by his group the Prodigals. Ive always known the Prodigals as a Celtic rock band, something thats put their music a bit out of this columns purview. However, Ive always dug them they have incredible energy live so I took some time to have a close listen to this new one and found it really rather interesting. On it, they make a bit of a departure from their jig punk reputation and have embraced the sound of a wizened pub band taking a more introspective traditional angle.

The Prodigals are a New York institution and have been around for nigh 25 years. Although the lineups changed some over that time, the current incarnation is strong and includes Grene (vocals, button accordion), Colin Forhan (guitar, mandolin, banjo, vocals), and Eamon Elams (drums & percussion). On the album, theyre joined by some very fine guests, including Mari Black (fiddle; http://www.mariblack.com), Mark Dann (bass), Alex Grene (fiddle), Katie Grennan (fiddle; http://www.katiegrennan.com), Jimmy Greenwood (bass) and the great Joanie Madden (whistle & flute; joaniemadden.com).

When he gave me the album, Grene said it included some traditional sounds Id be interested in, and in that vein hes right. Songs like Two Sisters, and Black Velvet Band, and instrumental tracks like Carolans Concerto / have a bit of old time depth and are lovely. However, I found that the best and most compelling stuff on the album were Grenes own compositions. There are a couple of interesting tune sets in Kathleen Alex / and Frances Clement / that I think are quite nice but to my ears his songs Belturbet Town, Recantation (Say Hello), and Ballad of Mattie Farrell stand out. Theyre well written, finely arranged, and well produced tracks that attract the ear.

Belturbet Town is an album I didnt expect. Its introspective without being precious and the music unfolds in a measured, almost relaxed way. Fans of The Prodigals will dig it, of course, but theres more to this album than the bands reputation will have you think its one Id say curious listeners should check out. (And, Id wager its one youll certainly hear Sundays on WFUV if youre in the Tristate Area!) Learn more at The Prodigals website, http://www.prodigals.com....

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Participation is key for CIAW - Irish Echo

The current production of "Ragtime" by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has been long awaited by local theater fans. Planned to be founder Robert Kelley's final musical as TheatreWorks' artistic director, the show was scheduled for spring 2020 when COVID-19 shut it down shortly after rehearsals began. Luckily for audiences, after two years, the production is back on, with Kelley at the helm.

"Ragtime," based on E. L. Doctorow's 1975 novel, comes from the powerhouse pair of Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics), with libretto by the late, great Terrence McNally (an early COVID-19 casualty). Taking place, according to the program, in "Ragtime America, 1908-1913," the story follows the interwoven experiences of three fictional families.

Flaherty and Aherns are a wonderful writing team, and the songs of "Ragtime" are a pleasing mix of period pastiche (including, of course, plenty of ragtime rhythms) and epic ballads (most memorably "Wheels of a Dream"), with lyrics ranging from winkingly snarky to achingly poignant and rousing. The structure has the players sometimes serving as omniscient narrators, introducing their characters in the third person, giving the effect of a lively history lecture.

At show's start, in WASP-y New Rochelle, New York, Father (Noel Anthony), Mother (Christine Dwyer), The Little Boy (Jackson Janssen/Joshua Parecki), Younger Brother (Sean Okuniewicz) and grumpy Grandfather (Colin Thomson) live a life of sheltered ignorance and privilege. When Father heads off on a yearlong expedition to the Arctic, however, his wife, young son and brother-in-law all begin to have their eyes opened to a wider world, with empathetic Mother chafing against her genteel domestic binds and awkward Younger Brother longing to find purpose and excitement.

In Harlem, Black pianist Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (Nkrumah Gatling) is a rising star, thanks to his talent for the hot new musical style that irresistibly, deliciously syncopated ragtime. Reunited with his true love Sarah (Iris Beaumier), the couple has an infant son and high hopes, only to be thwarted by racism, violence and injustice everywhere they turn. Their tragedy becomes a rallying cry for others who see themselves in Coalhouse's righteous anger.

And in the squalid tenements of the Lower East Side, Jewish Latvian immigrant Tateh (Leo Ash Evens) and his daughter (Sydney Walker Freeman/Ruth Keith), arrive in America full of optimism and dreams of prosperity but are soon challenged by antisemitism, poverty and exploitation.

As these characters cross paths and become entangled, they encounter historical figures of the era, including illusionist Harry Houdini (Keith Pinto), activist and writer Emma Goldman (Suzanne Grodner), automobile industrialist Henry Ford (Thomson again), educator and intellectual Booker T. Washington (Michael Gene Sullivan), and celebrity beauty Evelyn Nesbit (Melissa Wolfklain), who's part of the high-profile "Crime of the Century" (though the scandal is played for sharp laughs in the show, in real-life, it should be noted, Nesbit was the victim of abuse).

While "Ragtime" is ambitious in scope, Kelley and his crew offer a winningly streamlined version. Most of the cast plays multiple roles, with great success. The scenic design by Wilson Chin, too, is minimal, with evocative lighting design by Pamila Z. Gray. The orchestra, led by William Liberatore, sounds fabulous, and costumes by B. Modern are suitably sumptuous. Oh, and there's a shiny Model T Ford.

Most importantly, the cast gives excellent performances across the board, with standouts including Gatling, who captures Coalhouse's charisma, pain, and dignity; Okuniewicz as the yearning, lost Younger Brother; and Leslie Ivy as Sarah's Friend, offering almost unbelievably beautiful vocals on "Till We Reach That Day." While Dwyer is surely terrific, at the performance I attended, Mother was played by understudy Marie Finch, who did a lovely job. Best of all is when all the players sing together in a truly awe-inspiring display of vocal talent and power.

"Ragtime" offers a snapshot of United States mythos: the dawn of the 20th century; the idea of a "Great American Melting Pot" (to quote lyrics from another Ahrens project); rampant capitalism alongside progressivism; baseball and vaudeville; the not-so-calm before the explosive First World War. But while there is that nostalgia factor, there is also the realization that the issues depicted on stage racial prejudice, police brutality, antisemitism, sexism, xenophobia, the struggle for workers' rights, to name just a few still loom large in today's America.

The perky conclusion of "Ragtime" is bittersweet after the pain and violence that's unfolded. We're glad for those characters who do get their happy endings, and embrace their hopes for a better future, but we know all too well that it has proved elusive for so many more than a century later. The struggle ever continues, the production suggests, but so too must striving toward the dream. As TheatreWorks Artistic Director Tim Bond puts it in his program notes, "one of the superpowers great theatre possesses is the ability to post important questions about our human potential and societal change without trying to give easy answers." The question of "whether there is any realistic hope coming out of this story," he writes, "... lies more with the audiences that witnessed it than with the story itself."

"Ragtime" runs through June 26 at the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts, 500 Castro. St., Mountain View. More information is available at theatreworks.org.

More:
Review: 'Ragtime' at TheatreWorks fires on all cylinders - Palo Alto Online

Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 19-25:

June 19: Actor Gena Rowlands is 92. Singer Spanky McFarlane of Spanky and Our Gang is 80. Actor Phylicia Rashad is 74. Singer Ann Wilson of Heart is 72. Keyboardist Larry Dunn (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 69. Actor Kathleen Turner is 68. Country singer Doug Stone is 66. Singer Mark "Marty" DeBarge of DeBarge is 63. Singer-dancer Paula Abdul is 60. Actor Andy Lauer ("Caroline in the City") is 59. Singer-guitarist Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe is 58. Actor Mia Sara ("Ferris Bueller's Day Off") is 55. "Good Morning America" host Lara Spencer is 53. Guitarist Brian "Head" Welch of Korn is 52. Actor Jean Dujardin ("The Artist") is 50. Actor Robin Tunney is 50. Actor Bumper Robinson ("Sabrina The Teenage Witch") is 48. Actor Poppy Montgomery ("Unforgettable," Without a Trace") is 47. Singer-banjoist Scott Avett of The Avett Brothers is 46. Actor Ryan Hurst ("The Walking Dead," "Sons of Anarchy") is 46. Actor Zoe Saldana is 44. Actor Neil Brown Jr.("SEAL Team") is 42. Actor Lauren Lee Smith ("CSI") is 42. Singer Macklemore of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is 40. Actor Paul Dano is 38. Actor Giacomo Gianniotti ("Grey's Anatomy") is 33. Actor Chuku Modu ("The Good Doctor") is 32. Actor Atticus Shaffer ("The Middle") is 24.

June 20: Actor Bonnie Bartlett ("St. Elsewhere," Once and Again") is 93. Actor James Tolkan ("Back to the Future" films) is 91. Musician Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys is 80. Actor John McCook ("The Bold and the Beautiful") is 78. Singer Anne Murray is 77. Home repair show host Bob Vila is 76. Classical pianist Andre Watts is 76. Actor Candy Clark ("American Graffiti") is 75. Singer Lionel Richie is 73. Actor John Goodman is 70. Bassist Michael Anthony (Van Halen, Chickenfoot) is 68. Bassist John Taylor of Duran Duran is 62. Keyboardist Mark degli Antoni (Soul Coughing) is 60. Guitarist Jerome Fontamillas of Switchfoot is 55. Bassist Murphy Karges of Sugar Ray is 55. Actor Nicole Kidman is 55. Singer Dan Tyminski of Alison Krauss and Union Station is 55. Actor Peter Paige ("Queer as Folk") is 53. Actor Josh Lucas ("Sweet Home Alabama," A Beautiful Mind") is 51. Bassist Twiggy Ramirez (Marilyn Manson) is 51. Singer Chino Moreno is 49. Singer Amos Lee is 45. Actor Tika Sumpter ("The Have and the Have Nots") is 42. Drummer Chris Thompson of The Eli Young Band is 42. Singer-actor Alisan Porter ("The Voice," Curly Sue") is 41. Singer Grace Potter of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is 39. Keyboardist Chris Dudley of Underoath is 39. Actor Mark Saul ("Grey's Anatomy") is 37. Actor Dreama Walker (film's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," TV's "Gossip Girl") is 36. Actor Chris Mintz-Plasse ("Superbad") is 33. Actor Maria Lark (TV's "Medium") is 25.

June 21: Actor Bernie Kopell ("The Love Boat") is 89. Actor Monte Markham is 87. Actor Mariette Hartley is 82. Comedian Joe Flaherty ("SCTV") is 81. Musician Ray Davies of The Kinks is 78. Actor Meredith Baxter ("Family Ties") is 75. Actor Michael Gross (Baxter's co-star on the sitcom "Family Ties") is 75. Guitarist Joey Molland of Badfinger is 75. Drummer Joey Kramer of Aerosmith is 72. Guitarist Nils Lofgren is 71. Actor Robyn Douglas (TV's "Galactica," film's "Breaking Away") is 70. Cartoonist Berke Breathed ("Opus," Bloom County") is 65. Actor Josh Pais ("Ray Donovan") is 64. Country singer Kathy Mattea is 63. Actor Marc Copage ("Julia") is 60. Actor Doug Savant ("Desperate Housewives," Melrose Place") is 58. Guitarist Porter Howell of Little Texas is 58. Actor Michael Dolan ("Hamburger Hill," "Biloxi Blues") is 57. Filmmaker Lana Wachowski ("The Matrix," "Speed Racer") is 57. Actor Carrie Preston ("The Good Wife") is 55. Actor Paula Irvine ("Santa Barbara") is 54. Country singer Allison Moorer is 50. Actor Juliette Lewis is 49. Actor Maggie Siff ("Mad Men") is 48. Bassist Justin Cary (Sixpence None the Richer) is 47. Guitarist Mike Einziger of Incubus is 46. Actor Chris Pratt ("Jurassic World," Guardians of the Galaxy") is 43. Singer Brandon Flowers of The Killers is 41. Actor Jussie Smollett ("Empire") is 40. Actor Michael Malarkey ("The Vampire Diaries") is 39. Singer Kris Allen ("American Idol") is 37. Singer Lana Del Rey is 37. Actor Jascha Washington ("Big Momma's House" films) is 33. Bassist Chandler Baldwin of LANCO is 30. Singer Rebecca Black is 25.

June 22: Singer-actor Kris Kristofferson is 86. Actor Michael Lerner is 81. Actor Klaus Maria Brandauer is 79. Journalist Brit Hume is 79. Singer Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon is 78. Singer Howard "Eddie" Kaylan of The Turtles is 75. Singer Todd Rundgren is 74. Singer Alan Osmond of The Osmonds is 73. Actor Meryl Streep is 73. Actor Lindsay Wagner ("The Bionic Woman") is 73. Actor Graham Greene ("Dances With Wolves") is 70. Singer Cyndi Lauper is 69. Actor Chris Lemmon is 68. Bassist Derek Forbes (Simple Minds) is 66. Bassist Garry Beers of INXS is 65. Actor Bruce Campbell ("Evil Dead," "The Adventures of Briscoe County Junior") is 64. Bassist Alan Anton of Cowboy Junkies is 63. Actor Tracy Pollan ("Family Ties") is 62. Keyboardist Jimmy Sommerville (Bronski Beat) is 61. Singer Mike Edwards of Jesus Jones is 58. Actor Amy Brenneman is 58. Singer Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies) is 52. Actor Michael Trucco ("How I Met Your Mother," "Battlestar Gallactica") is 52. Actor Mary Lynn Rajskub ("24) is 51. TV personality Carson Daly is 49. Guitarist Chris Traynor (Helmet) is 49. Actor Donald Faison ("Scrubs") is 48. Actor Lecy Goranson ("The Connors," "Roseanne") is 48. Comedian Mike O'Brien ("Saturday Night Live") is 46. TV personality Jai Rodriguez ("Queer Eye For The Straight Guy") is 43. Actor Lindsay Ridgeway ("Boy Meets World") is 37. Singer Dinah Jane (Fifth Harmony) is 25.

June 23: Singer Diana Trask is 82. Actor Ted Shackelford ("Knots Landing") is 76. Actor Bryan Brown ("The Thorn Birds") is 75. Former "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson is 66. Actor Frances McDormand is 65. Drummer Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth is 60. Director Josh Whedon ("The Avengers," Marvels' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.") is 58. Singer Chico DeBarge is 52. Actor Selma Blair is 50. Actor Joel Edgerton ("Loving") is 48. Singer KT Tunstall is 47. Singer Virgo Williams of Ghostown DJs is 47. Actor Emmanuelle Vaugier ("Two and a Half Men") is 46. Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz is 45. Actor Melissa Rauch ("The Big Bang Theory") is 42. Singer Duffy is 38.

June 24: Actor Michele Lee is 80. Singer Arthur Brown is 80. Actor-director Georg Stanford Brown is 79. Guitarist Jeff Beck is 78. Singer Colin Blunstone of The Zombies is 77. Drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac is 75. Actor Peter Weller is 75. Bassist John Illsley of Dire Straits is 73. Reggae singer Derrick Simpson of Black Uhuru is 72. Actor Nancy Allen ("RoboCop") is 72. Actor Joe Penny ("Jake and the Fatman," Riptide") is 66. Singer-keyboardist Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoevres in the Dark is 63. Musician Siedah Garrett is 62. Actor Iain Glen ("Game of Thrones") is 61. Bassist Curt Smith of Tears for Fears is 61. Actor Danielle Spencer ("What's Happening") is 57. Actor Sherry Stringfield ("ER") is 55. Singer Glenn Medeiros is 52. Actor Carla Gallo ("Bones") is 47. Actor Amir Talai ("LA to Vegas") is 45. Actor Mindy Kaling ("The Mindy Project," The Office") is 43. Actor Minka Kelly is 42. Actor Vanessa Ray ("Blue Bloods") is 41. Actor Justin Hires (2016s "MacGyver," Rush Hour") is 37. Singer Solange Knowles is 36. Actor Max Ehrich ("The Young and the Restless," Under the Dome") is 31. Actor Beanie Feldstein ("Lady Bird") is 29.

June 25: Actor June Lockhart is 97. Singer Eddie Floyd is 85. Actor Barbara Montgomery ("Amen," The Women of Brewster Place") is 83. Actor Mary Beth Peil ("The Good Wife," Dawson's Creek") is 82. Singer Carly Simon is 79. Keyboardist-saxophonist Ian McDonald of Foreigner and King Crimson is 76. Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker is 75. Singer Tim Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House is 70. Keyboardist David Paich of Toto is 68. Actor Michael Sabatino ("NYPD Blue") is 67. Actor Ricky Gervais is 61. Actor Erica Gimpel (TV's "Fame," Profiler") is 58. Rapper Richie Rich is 55. Guitarist Sean Kelly (Sixpence None The Richer) is 51. Actor Angela Kinsey ("The Office") is 51. Bassist Mike Kroegerof Nickelback is 50. Actor Linda Cardellini ("ER," Scooby Doo") is 47. Actor Busy Philipps ("ER," Dawson's Creek") is 43.

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Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 19-25 - Star Tribune

HANOVER Four years ago, Isabella Kelley set a goal in a letter to herself:becoming valedictorian of the Class of 2022.

That accomplished, she set a new one at Friday night's Hanover High School graduation ceremony, and asked her classmates and the audience to make it theirs too.

"My goal is to make my future goal kindness and inclusion," Kelley said. "Being nice just feels good."

And while this may not change the world, it maychange someone's world, she said. Kelley urged her classmates to focus more on the bright side of life.

Hanover High School Principal Matthew Mattos wanted to make a point on the benefits of hard work over relying on good luck.He said hard work is what got the 140 members of the class to graduation.Luck, well that got one member of the class the $100 bill that was taped underneath one of the seats in their section. One young woman stood up after finding the bill.

Class Salutatorian Michael Greene talked about the importance of laughter and the ability to laugh at yourself.He cited thetime he flunked a physics testand his parents hung the paperon the refrigerator.

"With laugher, you may find you recover faster," Greene said. "Never wait to laugh, no matter how difficult life is."

Cara Jenkins, the senior class president, noted the difficulties the members of the class experienced during the coronavirus pandemic.

"It gave us a greater appreciation of the things we took for granted before," Jenkins said.

School Superintendent Matthew Ferron urged the class to cherish the relationships that they have forged in the small town where they grew up which makes Hanover their "forever home."

Garrett Arnold, Keegan Baldwin, Robert Barrett, Karen Bell, Niall Bishop, Dean Blanton, Craig Bossi, McKenzie Bottomley, Olivia Bray, Quinn Brown, Wesley Bryan, Anna Bucchianeri, Samantha Burke, Patrick Cahill, Alexandra Calabro, Patrick Callow, Brent Campbell, Kylie Campbell, Joseph Campo, Lauren Casey, Vincent Castaldini, Charles Cataldo, Ryan Chabot, Caden Chadwick, Tyler Chin, Phoebe Cleaves, Sean Connolly, Kace Corbett, Andrew Corbo, Jackson Coughlin, Sean Coughlin, Olivia Cuesta, Nathan Curtis.

Nora Dailey, Nicole Danehy, Rosemary Danehy, Maxwell DaSilva, Kelsey DelPrete, Benjamin DeMita, Domenick Depauw, Willow DiGravio, Paige Dillis, Madelyn Doherty, Jack Dolan, Carly Dougherty, Deirdre Downey, Meghan Enos, Nolan Faherty, Jeffrey Fassl, Jackson Fish, Alizay Fiske, Colin Flaherty, Norah Flanders, Matthew Flynn, Sean Freel, Madison Freel, McKalah Gaine, Cole Gannon, Cullen Gardner, Megan Gartley, Morgan Gentile, Callia Gilligan, Alexander Ginter, Rose Giordani, Michael Greene.

Sheridan Hall, Robert Hanna, Evan Hebblethwaite, Christian Henderson, Morgan Henry, Vincenzo Hoiberg, Luke Hoyes, Elizabeth Hutchins, Paul Jackson, Cara Jenkins, Nora Jenkins, Sarah Jenkins, Thomas Jenkins, Jack Johnston, Abigail Jones, Asrat Jones, Makenna Kane, Brady Kehoe, Isabella Kelley, Jordan Kennedy, John Kenney, Theodore Lanagan, Karis Elysandra Lantz, Reilly Laubenstein, Zachary Lawit, Victoria Leary, Sophia Lee, Zachary Lee, Daniel Leskow, Elsa Little-Gill, Mary Longueil, Michael Losordo, Jared Lupien.

Tyler MacDermott, Calvin MacDonald, Duncan MacDougall, Caris Mann, Benjamin Manning, Christopher Manning, Daniel Manning, Scott Manolakis, Jack Masse, Gillian Mastrocola, Tyler Matthews, Katherine McAuley, Lilly McAvay, Conor McCloskey, Henry McCombs, William McFarland, Julia McGillivray, Kathryn McGillivray, Molly McGlame, Aidan McNally, Rachael Meehan, Preston Miller, Anna Minichino, David Mitchell, Caroline Moody, Alexi Morales, Natalie Mowbray, Ben Murphy, Mark Mustone, Jason Naughton, Emma Neville, Erin Obreza, Audrey O'Brien, Griffin O'Brien, Jack O'Callaghan.

James Parry, Sydney Patch, Tanner Paul, MaryKate Perkins, Nicholas Plahn, Timothy Porter, Maebon Puleio, Dylan Rice, Jadon Rice, Gianna Rizzo, Nieve Rowlette, Ryan Rusko, Jack Rynning, Inka Ryter, Michael Salamone, Isma Saleem, Lauren Salvas, Nathaniel Salvucci, Serena Sawaya, Carsten Schwarz, Brayden Scott, Bridget Sellon, Kendall Sherwood, Emily Signor, Caroline Souza, James Squires, Ella Stone, Jenna Sweeney, Michael Sweeney, Emma Talbot, Morgan Taylor, Timothy Taylor, Breanna Thomas, Brian Thompson, Danielle Tilden, Derek Tokarz, Ava Toner, Raymond Tschudy, Cameron Valair, Grace Van Duyn, John Ventola, Andrew Vermette, Colin Vincent, Tiana Wakefield, Caroline Walbridge, John Watson, Aidan Whitney, Ryan Wildman, Carter Zielinski.

More graduation coverage: Celebrate the 2022 graduation season with the Patriot Ledger: Here's everything you need

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Hanover High School Class of 2022 told hard work beats good luck - The Patriot Ledger