The Flyers Alumni and a few dozen Flyers fans got back home on Thursday from a weeklong golfing and sightseeing trip to Ireland. Even Gritty came along and behaved himself (by Gritty standards). The traveling party played golf on some of the country's most famous courses, visited historic sites in Dublin and the countryside and generally had a great time in the Emerald Isle.
Attending Flyers Alumni included players from various generations of team history: Broad Street Bullies era players Tom Bladon, Bill Clement, Orest Kindrachuk and Joe Watson did a Q&A session with fans, emceed by Steve Coates. 1980s Flyers Brad Marsh, Lindsay Carson and Ed Hospodar represented the "Keenan's Kids" era. Meanwhile, Flyers Hall of Fame members John LeClair and Mark Recchi represented the best of the 1990s and early 2000s.
There was very much a family feel to the trip. Bladon came with his wife, Diane. Joe Watson came with wife Jamie, who has relatives that live in Ireland. Marsh was joined by wife Patty.
Additionally, there was a multi-generation component to the trip. United States Hockey Hall of Fame member LeClair was joined by son Calvin. Likewise, Cam Recchi golfed and socialized with his Hockey Hall of Famer dad, Mark.
Another piece of Flyers (and Philadelphia) history represented on the tour: Flyers fan Bill Carabasi is the grandson of the late Matthew McCloskey. Most famously, Mr. McCloskey was the United States ambassador to Ireland during the John Kennedy administration.
Locally, Matthew McCloskey owned McCloskey and Company Builders in Philadelphia. The McCloskey company built the Spectrum, the Flyers' home arena from the inaugural 1967-68 season through the 1994-95 campaign. Carabasi's uncle, Thomas McCloskey, headed the day-to-day operations of the Spectrum construction. The firm also built Veterans Stadium, the longtime homes of the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles.
During the Alumni's final day in Ireland, the Alumni and Carabasi had a special visitor: Ray McAdam, the current Lord Mayor of Dublin, came to the Philly contingent's hotel at the Portmarnock Resort. The visit was arranged through Executive Global Travel, the trip organizers.
One day earlier, Dallas Stars owner Tom Gagliardi, opened the Hotel Shebeen at Portmarnock to the Flyers Alumni and Flyers guests as his special guests before an outdoor picnic and the Q&A session. Gagliardi owns the Shebeen. The travelers were treated to rounds of Guinness after golfing at rhe resort.
